In short how is your country run? How is your ruler selected? How much power does your ruler have. Is it a monarchy, a republic, or something else? What is the ruling dynasty? I don’t want to see five paragraphs here about how your monarch has to go through parliament to select viceroys or something. It needs only be long enough to provide a sufficient summary of your government. Feel free to add additional info under a hider if you feel compelled to.
Geography
This should be more just a claim of your location. Talk about the climate, terrain, and important locations in your country. Specifically mention major cities and your capital. Bonus points if you have an internal map that includes highways.
Culture
Much like the government section, don’t drown us in details, though feel free to add more info under a hider or something. Is your country culturally homogenous or a mixture of ethnicities? Are your people humans or some other race? If you have various ethnicities, how do they interact with each other? What are your people’s values? Bonus points for adding insults they use to refer to the people from countries they have been at war with. A note about nonhuman races: do not simply make them arbitrarily superior to humans, if they are better than humans in one way then they will be inferior in another way.
Military
How do your people fight? What strategies and tactics do they usually employ? What sort of equipment do your troops use? What’s the emphasis of your military? Try to be somewhat unique here. If a pre-existing country makes heavy use of heavy infantry and shield walls, for instance, don’t do the same yourself. I am not interested in numbers or percentages, so don’t use them.
Heroes
Each country gets one superior hero and three normal heroes. In terms of combat strength expect a superior hero to be on par with about 150 men and normal heroes to be on par with 100 men. (Yes, this is the only place in the sheet where there are actually numbers) Basically these are the badasses of your country that you can use for point of view characters if you want. At absolute bare minimum you need a name and one line description of what your hero is good at; however, ideally this should be the largest section of your sheet. You can use any explanation you want for why your heroes are stronger than normal people. For example using magic, being blessed by a divine entity, or simply being very skilled with their weapons. Also keep in mind that if a hero dies you can replace him or her with a new one.
History
A brief history of your country is fine, so long as you cover the last 20 or so years. I’m looking for more of a summary of important events than list of dead monarchs.
Relations
How does your country interact with its neighbors. I am not looking for a list of exports and imports, but feel free to add them if you want. At bare minimum I want a listed rival here, another country that yours viewed as an enemy and actively worked against during the past twenty or so years.
Characters
Optional section. Put any info about any characters here. Examples of this would be your kings or queens, military leaders, and non-hero “badasses”. You can also put more detailed info of your heroes here as well.
A religious military order, the Argentum Knights are by definition an ecclesiastical organization. The General Chapter of the Argentum Knights is made up of two organizations, the Church, which legally includes all the priests of Argenism in and beyond the borders of the Argentum Knights, and the knights. The Argentum Knights is lead by its Lord Champion who is elected by the General Chapter and holds office until his death or he resigns.
Due to issues with gathering all of the members of the General Chapter, deputations from its various commanderies and the churches would gather to form the governing body of the General Chapter. While in theory the General Chapter is supposed to gather twice a year in order to form policy, usually it gathers only upon a Lord Champion’s death, resulting in the Lord Champions of the Argentum Knights having near absolute power.
Geography
This should be more just a claim of your location. Talk about the climate, terrain, and important locations in your country. Specifically mention major cities and your capital. Bonus points if you have an internal map that includes highways.
Culture
The Argentum Knights draw recruits from all across the continent, meaning they are an ethnically and racially diverse group united by faith and a common purpose. Of all the ethnicities the Levinites, natives of the capital city of Levine, are the most numerous and influential. The Levinites are fair skinned humans who typically have blonde or light brown hair and blue or green eyes. The Levinitess are known to be an industrious folk who enjoy song and dance.
Levinites take part in folk dances on a regular basis as they serve as an important social and entertainment purpose. Most folk dances are intended to be done by dozens of individuals at once and have few rules or guidelines. The Autumn dance, for instance, is a dance where men form a large circle and jump around. Typically the Autumn dance is male only, but inviting a woman to the circle is acceptable and a common means of asking for her hand in marriage. Tavern dances, on the other hand, are large scale partner dances that are done by all members of the community over the age of eight, where dancing partners are frequently switched throughout the dance. These massive dances last until either all the dancers or musicians tire, whichever comes first. The upper class citizens, usually the families or knights and priests but also some merchant families, perform or watch sword dances for entertainment.
Ancestor veneration is a common practice in the territory controlled by the Knights. Those that are descended from the original members of the Silver Legion take great pride in this and often erected statues or shrines in their honor, whereas others find descendants of their own to venerate. It is also common practice for citizens of Levine to show veneration for the Silver Legion despite possessing no blood ties to them. The Row of the Legion is a street in Levine lined by statues of all the members of the original Silver Legion, where many choose to leave small offerings and try to commune with the fallen heroes.
Military
The military of the Argentum Knights is a prime example of a quality over quantity approach. Never able to field more troops than its foes, the Knights instead uses training and the state’s wealth to provide higher quality troops. The Argentum Knights are famous for their heavy, two-handed sword using, infantry and the tactics they use to employ them. The Knights favor fast-paced attacking tactics centered around two-handed swords and pikes, or other polearms, and supported by crowsbows and mages.
The one example of the Argentum Knights foregoing its quality over quantity approach, these soldiers are peasants or criminals who were conscripted into military service. In most cases these soldiers are equipped only with a pike and knife or a crossbow and are left unarmored. Formations of pike levies use the more cautious tactic of fencing at the length of the pike and, although they can be quickly trained (it takes about half an hour to train pikemen how to march in formation for instance), levies are not trusted in any role beyond a supportive one and usually used simply to inflate the Knights’ numbers a bit. Noncriminal levies are only required to serve for one to three months, making them incapable of providing much assistance outside of protecting the Holy Land and nearby areas.
Recruits drawn from across the continent, the half-brothers are a mixed bag of mercenaries, pilgrims who wish to defend the Holy Land, and individuals who wish to formally join the Argentum Knights. Obviously these soldiers possess higher moral and better training than their levy counterparts. These soldiers just acquire their own arms and armor, meaning that at times there can be little uniformity in a half-brother formation. These soldiers are commonly equipped with an axe or sword and rely on chainmail, a gambeson, and small shield for protection. It is not uncommon for half-brothers to work as mercenaries, although only for causes they find acceptable. Half-brothers working in a mercenary capacity almost always have better equipment than their non-mercenary peers.
Drawing recruits from Levine’s social and economic elites, these soldiers are well trained and heavily armored and can be relied upon to defend a position. These soldiers are often outfitted with chainmail or plated chainmail armor and carry a two handed sword, arming sword, and often a javelin into battle. Pikemen and arbalests often serve in a supportive role in Levinite gallowglass formations.
Forming the core of the Argentum Knights’ fighting force, the Argentum Landsknechte has become somewhat iconic of the military order. The Landsknechts are made up of professional soldiers who are very well trained and equipped. The bulk of these soldiers are pikemen and two handed swordsmen, with about an eighth of the Argentum Landsknechte consisting of arbalests and mages who provided support for the melee soldiers. Argentum Landsknechte employ aggressive tactics; Landsknechte pikemen rush the enemy formation with the first few ranks giving a single powerful thrust with their pikes before the front line switches to swords and daggers if the first thrust didn’t break the enemy formation. Two handed swordsmen are often employed as shock infantry in later charges or to stop the enemy from taking advantage of breaches in the formation. These soldiers are outfitted with chainmail armor, further enhanced by plates of armor placed to protect the chest, shoulders, and forearms. Regardless of their role in the formation they call carry arming swords. The word Landsknechte, somewhat confusingly, is commonly used to refer to a soldier who uses a two handed sword, with landsknecht-pikemen and landsknecht-arbalests used to refer to other specific roles in Argentum Landsknechte formations.
Part ceremonial and part elite infantry, Argentum trabants are attendants and lifeguards tasked with the protection of senior officers or senior officials on the battlefield. They are also commonly tasked with the duty of guarding or retrieving important religious artifacts. While nominally infantry, Argentum trabants are also well trained in mounted combat as well. These soldiers are outfitted in high quality laminar armor and use a variety of weapons ranging from two handed swords and arming swords to spears, although polearms, especially the glaive and fassaurt, are their favorite weapons to use in battle.
Very similar to the trabant, the paladins are elite infantry who are tasked with the guarding and retrieving of important religious artifacts, the guarding of religious sites, and the protection of important religious officials. At times they even aid Utryean Inquisitors. Most commonly the paladins are outfitted with chainmail enhanced by armor plates, but they may also utilize full plate armor or some form of lighter armor. The paladins are well known for employing two handed swords in combat, but many choose to use swords and shields, or polearms instead. On top of being excellent fighters, many paladins are also able to use magic, although they often aren’t as skilled as a “true” mage.
Often called the Silver Knights, not to be confused with the Argentum Knights which would refer to the whole of the faction, the Knights of the Silver are the most elite soldiers available to the Argenum Knights. Unsurprisingly they are masters in the use of two handed swords and a variety of other melee weapons. There are only one hundred Knights of the Silver, when one dies or retires he is replaced resulting in the number always being one hundred. Given their high status and skill they are given the best equipment: full plate armor for defense and their choice of weaponry.
Cavalry outfitted with scale and plated mail armor, these lancers serve as the Knights’ primary shock cavalry. Lancer cavalry rely primarily on their lances, although they do often carry an arming sword as a backup weapon. In battle Argentum lancers are used to repeatedly charge an enemy formation, returning to the baggage train between charges to pick up a new lance. They are not intended to remain in sustained melee combat, although they have been known to do so in the event that they have broken through an enemy’s formation and reached either their baggage train or leadership.
While somewhat overlapping the lancers in that they serve as shock cavalry, they are distinct from them, and other forms in heavy cavalry, in that they possess a truly impressive amount of esprit de corps, are highly disciplined, and are trained to make use of not only melee and charge weapons, but also ranged weapons and mages. These mounted knights are outfitted with chainmail and armor plates or full plate armor in some rare cases, and a shield. For weapons they commonly carry a lance, an arming sword, a mace, and a crossbow or bow, although not all cataphracts actually carried a ranged weapon. The use of ranged weapons and magic as fire support is an important and defining feature of the Argentum cataphracts, as they would be used to harass and weaken an enemy formation before the cataphract would commit to a charge.
Heroes
Each country gets one superior hero and three normal heroes. In terms of combat strength expect a superior hero to be on par with about 150 men and normal heroes to be on par with 100 men. (Yes, this is the only place in the sheet where there are actually numbers) Basically these are the badasses of your country that you can use for point of view characters if you want. At absolute bare minimum you need a name and one line description of what your hero is good at; however, ideally this should be the largest section of your sheet. You can use any explanation you want for why your heroes are stronger than normal people. For example using magic, being blessed by a divine entity, or simply being very skilled with their weapons. Also keep in mind that if a hero dies you can replace him or her with a new one.
History
The Argentum Knights have a rather short history when compared to many of the countries of Aksor. When the Prophetess and the Silver Legion survivors returned from their campaign in the East, the families of the Silver Legion gathered together in a fighting force, fearing that the people of Askor would turn against the Silver Legion. Their fears were justified, as before they could rally into a unified force the Silver Legion was attacked and killed to the last and the Prophetess was taken to the city of Levine. The families rushed to Levine, hoping they could rescue the Prophetess. They almost made it; their army was within eyesight of the city when the Prophetess was burned at the stake.
Upon hearing of this, they were so outraged that they attacked the city anyways and quickly captured it. Taking the city did little to ease their anger and so for the next few decades they waged a series of wars against their neighbors. During this time they formally formed themselves into the Argentum Knights and declared Levine to be a holy site and they its defenders.
Over the next few centuries they adopted a more defensive and peaceful stance then they had previously used. Banking, and trade brought in by pilgrims, allowed them to accumulate a great treasury.
((I’ll add more about the more recent conflicts and the like in a bit))
Relations
How does your country interact with its neighbors. I am not looking for a list of exports and imports, but feel free to add them if you want. At bare minimum I want a listed rival here, another country that yours viewed as an enemy and actively worked against during the past twenty or so years.
Characters
Optional section. Put any info about any characters here. Examples of this would be your kings or queens, military leaders, and non-hero “badasses”. You can also put more detailed info of your heroes here as well.
The Utrye government is a strict ecclesiarchy, under the Argenism faith. Though the Prophetess is hailed as the eternal god-queen, the King is the defacto leader of the nation. Below the King is the "Argen assembly" a legislative assembly that focuses on not only laws and policies, but interpreting the many ancient texts on the prophetess and of her worshippers of that era. The Argen assembly is led by a figure known as an archpriest(ess).
There is another institution that enforces law but in many cases operates above it, The Inquisitors. They operate as law enforcers, investigators, and judges when need be. Though they are not officially part of the nations ruling body, they have been known to influence the nations direction.
Utryean government is also heavily influenced by its now massive military forces. With many policies devoted to furthering the progress of technologies and tactics. This progress isn't merely fueled by the desire to beat all in an military engagement but rather to appease the Prophetess by creating a military that could be as strong as the ancient silver legion. Their sole belief is that when one in the service dies, they may become part of the legion and help in the foretold final battle in the east.
Geography
Utrye is flanked to the east by a large, near impassable mountain range. Its north is cold wastes with some towns built upon permafrost and in some rare cases, on ice. The central regions of the nation contain mostly gentle fertile plains and dense forests with a few lone mountains. To the south the land is more temperate, with small lakes ringed with many types of diverse wildlife.
Internal map coming soon!
Culture
Utryean Civil life; Simplistic.
In larger cities, most work in more commerce related fields. Large churches and schools foster more intelligent and pious citizenry. Various festivals occur throughout the year for various reasons. Smaller, rural areas tend to be far less educated. Their work is primarily physical labor, via farming, hunting and mining.
The Argent Church;
The Argent Inquisitors;
Military
Utrye armed forces utilize three separate branches.
The first is the standing army. This force consists of the bulk of the nations ground and naval forces. The standing army is composed of heavy infantry, archers, and mounted cavalry that operate in many mixed formations and tactics, supported in many cases by various siege engines from mighty trebuchets to a simple two-manned ballistae. Most soldiers of this group are volunteers. There are currently twenty-four armies
The Auxillary army is the guards, enforcers, and in times of war, conscripts. At the start of the story, A raised army would be decently equipped due to a large and well maintained stockpile. Levies from individual towns would be far less capable. With many using personal weapons and other objects for combat.
The Scarlet Legion was created nearly a century ago by a general who very much enjoyed female company. Though their historical origin is a forever embarrassment to the army's name, the truth is that the embarrassment created a vicious all-female volunteer fighting force. These soldiers are some of the best that Utrye has to offer, and many fear them as they are only called to the most important battles. There are currently sixteen scarlet armies.
Heroes
Elise is a long time member of the Inquisition. Many years of devout and unquestioned service has made her one of the most popular among the inquisitors. Elise Totally adores the Prophetess, adores her SO hard.
She is the Top badass.
Lucette is well known throughout Utrye for her devotion and loyalty when she was in the Scarlet army. After serving a mere five years and nearly attaining the rank of general, she chose to retire from the military. No one was sure why, many think that the fame that followed her from her exploits began to change her as a person, or that being forced into a position such as a general frightened her.
She is a carefree person, whom after leaving the military chose to abandon Utrye altogether. Although Lucette has a undying love for her home, she doesn't wish to reside there any longer.
Ayaka is a Utrye-born, Heavenly-sphere descended "Hunxie", or Huan-Human Hybrid. Her father, Ichiro Saitou, left the heavenly sphere to become more than a mere stonemason, and to escape what he saw as the oppression of government through its shadowy ninjas. His many travels ended with him arriving in Utrye. As the nation is racially tolerant, they accepted him with open arms. As he began to adopt the Prophetess as the one true god, he met a young woman named Priscilla Belrose, a fellow churchgoer. They courted and after marriage, had young Ayaka. Her mother wanted her to be named in Utryean tradition but he didn't want her to lose sight of her roots. So he chose her first name, and the mother chose her middle name, something rare in Utrye.
Her father eventually succumbed to old age after a very fulfilled life, with her mother passing not soon after. Ayaka, though heartbroken to be alone, was not afraid as she had learned a life's worth of lessons from her caring and well travelled father and very loving mother. As soon as she could join the military, her life became devoted to the Scarlet Army. After five years of devoted service, the Utryean military decided to recruit her as an agent for overseas missions. Her role was officially called a Marshall. or to some, a huntress, as she would be sent often into hostile territory to secure people or objects that are important to Utrye and Argenism in general.
While her faith in the Prophetess is unwavering, she is a fast learner with well versed in the beliefs of other nations, well trained in combat, espionage and subterfuge.
History
Utrye draws its roots from the ancient migrating tribes from the far east. As they continued to pour in from beyond the great mountains, they developed communities and strengthened their bonds. Peace was the primary drive over the nations early history, until the prophetess arrived. Although at first no one seen her as divine, none could escape the belief that her silver legion was all that would save the people of this world.
When she died, Utrye changed forever. And two factions arose, the ones who wanted to avenge the prophetess with their new founded Argenism faith, and the other were still worshippers of the primordial. Nearly three years of intense violence split the nation in half. Argenites pushed deep into the heart of Utrye, pushing the believers of the old gods beyond the mountains that line the modern border. Once across, the Argenites devastated the land and on their way back destroyed many of the paths through the mountains, leaving only a few ways to keep open communication and travel should that time ever arrive. For nearly two hundred-fifty years have passed with no real communication except for the occasional border farmer venturing too far and seeing nothing but still devastated lands.
Modern Utrye is a heavily religious nation with many statues and monuments to the Prophetess. Its infrastructure is well maintained and economy is strong.
Relations
How does your country interact with its neighbors. I am not looking for a list of exports and imports, but feel free to add them if you want. At bare minimum I want a listed rival here, another country that yours viewed as an enemy and actively worked against during the past twenty or so years.
Characters
A towering and young man, Louis IV is the current reigning lord of the nation.
Coming from a long line of devout Argenites, Marcelles is not just a strong willed fanatic, but backs that up with a very well tuned knowledge of the arcane.. and how to use it.
The commander of the main western army near the holy land. He is a highly devout Argenite but is surprisingly open minded compared to some others. Edmond is a very accomplished tactician, winning many battles in the north against various barbarian hordes. His leadership saved two major cities from a then famous orge barbarian, Bragga Plaguebearer. The ogre's head now adorns a taverns wall named in Edmonds honor.
Clair is one of the most renown generals of the scarlet army. Her many battles have left her as a grizzled veteran but she still maintains a friendly personality. Her belief is far different than the Inquisitors, in that she believes death is not the only way to save the misguided.
Osetina is a feudal monarchy wherein practical autonomy is granted to the upper nobility in their domains, but ultimate authority resides in the crown. One third of the country is held by the crown in perpetuity, and the remainder is divided among the high nobility. The relationship between the high nobility and the crown is based upon the latter providing protection, stability, and law to the former in accordance with the rulings of the High Council of the Serene One.
The rulings of the sovereign are absolute in theory, though in practice convention dictates that the sovereign shall not impinge upon the rights of the high nobility to govern their respective domains how they see fit so long as that governance abides by the rulings of the High Council of the Serene One. High lords and ladies exercise near total autonomy under this convention, though they are in turn expected to pay tax proportional to their wealth and provide fighting men in times of war. While not strictly law, these conventions are entrenched to the point that their violation would be equivalent to undermining the state itself and earn harsh punishment.
When a king or queen dies their successor is considered to be whichever member of the immediate royal family was appointed to be the heir by the erstwhile sovereign. If the departed sovereign selected no heir all eligible heirs are expected to hold an election among themselves to select the next ruler.
With regard to eligible heirs, the princes and princesses of Osetina are granted temporary holds within crown lands which they may govern at the leisure of the sovereign. Meant to provide possible successors experience in governance the tradition also serves another purpose. On the occasion conflict breaks out among heirs that conflict may be resolved more expediently should the designated heir govern a larger share of the country. In cases where there is no clear successor eligible heirs often find themselves with lands of equal worth, making war a riskier proposition when election offers an easier avenue to command of the kingdom.
Geography
Osetina is dominated by a large mountain range broken in two by the Valley of Bones, a fertile stretch of land once contested by nearly every tribe on the peninsula. The climate in the mountains ranges from temperate in the summer to cool in the winter. For most of the year the foothills, valleys, and coasts can generally be described as mild, but wet.
Large forests in the north mark the border with Lynnfaire. Though largely thinned by agriculture where the land makes such a pursuit practical these forests dominate the northern mountains to the extent that they are often considered impassable without a local guide or a great deal of luck. The southern peaks are somewhat more amenable to travel, being carpeted by shrubs and wild grasses in the milder summer months.
The largest city on the Osetinan peninsula is Murno in south, the agricultural capital of the kingdom. Surrounded by fertile fields and near enough to the mountains to make the city a mining hub, Murno is the economic heart of Osetina. However, it is not the capital. That particular accolade goes to the honoured city of Otocres. Situated in the Valley of Bones Otocres was once the spiritual core of the peninsula, and it was there the First Prince declared his new kingdom.
Culture
Though ruled for centuries by a Lynnfairian upper class, the culture and society of Osetina is remarkably similar to what it was in the past. While largely human the nation is far from ethnically homogeneous. The largest division is between the denizens of the northern and southern halves of the country who share much, but still retain their own dialects and customs. Those in the north have long been exposed to the Lynnfairian customs by virtue of proximity, and that exposure has led to the old traditions changing in ways inconceivable to some in the south. Another division of note is the gap that exists between the people of the mountains and the majority people of the lowlands. Barbarous even by the standards of the lowest southern peasants, the mountain peoples are a brutish and mysterious lot. Speaking the old ritual tongue, some even keeping to the wicked religion, the mountain folk pay taxes only when they are forced to and it is not uncommon for that to be the case. Some call them the last vestige of the old Osetina, and others call them the perpetual thorn in the side of the new Kingdom.
As for the majority in the lowlands, custom is not so varied as some would insinuate. The southern folk still use the old titles of Chief, Witch, and so on, but though the names change in the north the roles stay the same. Whether they are called Chief or Mayor, one still comes to be the village elder through the old contests of strength. If a village man can best his better in whatever odd martial ritual is that regions custom then in most cases he is to be the new leader. That is not to say that such custom extends far beyond the rule of villages.
North or South, Lynnfairian rule has made anyone titled count or higher immune to challenge. Powerful lineages rule any settlements or fortresses of real note and in general they care little for the old ways. With the support of the Church the powerful ruling class is free to go about its business, their right to rule enshrined and made holy by doctrine.
Yet in the end the low folk think about their betters as infrequently as their betters think about them. They pay their taxes, live their lives, and attend the great multitude of odd pagan festivals that time has twisted the meaning of. Song, dance, merriment, the foundation of Osetinan culture is in what happens after the day is through. Family ties are strong, and though it is common to men to head their houses the reverse is not unheard of. Osetina does not vilify women, but neither are they given explicit honours.
That is, unless they carry the old blood. The Witches of Osetina are often seen as in a class of their own, above their male counterparts and aside from the social order. To practice magic as a female is to join an ancient sisterhood, one whose right to exist is explicitly guaranteed by the nobility. Small castles built and used by the Witches periodically dot the countryside of the south, and none ask their purpose.
The highest born live by Lynnfairian custom, but only where it pleases them. In truth the traditions of the nobility are unique, but only in the way they seem to blend foreign values and religion with native pragmatism. Answerable only to their peers, the rule of the nobility is unchallenged everywhere but the mountains of the interior.
Military
The soldiers of Osetina have grown to know the hills and mountains of their homeland, and it is in that environment they know how to fight. Fielding almost no mounted forces Osetina looks to dominate terrain where cavalry would be hard to deploy effectively. Short shorts, heavy armour, strong shields, and frightening masses of pike are what make Osetina a force to be reckoned with.
The fighting square is the preferred formation in Osetina. With Footmen to form the outer walls and Pikemen and Crossbowmen to form the inside, the formation is a minor fortress to itself. The shield heavy formations are ponderous and lack flexibility, but in rough terrain they are powerful as other normally mobile forces share their handicap.
Heroes
To hold the position of High Witch is not an easy thing, and few have held it as long as Imogen. Born to a lesser noble family in the south Imogen wanted for little when she was young, and when it became apparent she could use the old blood in her veins to bend the laws of creation she wanted for nothing. Yet even the high position in the Witches guaranteed by her power and noble birth was not enough. By seventeen Imogen had already risen in the ranks to be one of the youngest Great Witches, and by twenty five she had usurped leadership of the ancient order. Imogen may not be the most powerful witch in memory, but her ambition and cunning make that an afterthought.
History
The very earliest of Lynnfairian records all speak of the menace to the south, that land of tribal barbarians and their cruel eldritch gods. For centuries the strange people of that jagged land plundered and laid to ruin the fertile plains of Lynnfaire in defiance of countless punitive expeditions, all of which crumbled upon the southern mountains. Yet in year x of the Age of Heros that all changed. An unremarkable Lynnfairian third prince sought the blessing of his father and the church to embark on another expedition, one with merely a third of the resources of its predecessors. Though all thought him sent to die, he would usher in a new era.
Marching south with his south the prince at first saw little resistance, like all who came before him. All that seemed to remain of the forest's inhabitants was tracks, a notable lack of game, and the unearthly sensation of being watched by unseen eyes. The price knew they would bide their time until he was well into the northern mountains before they struck, but rather than
1. crazy fucking heathens be pillaging 2. our expeditions keep dying on shitty mountains 3. useless third prince volunteers to lead another expedition 4. useless prince leads a smaller expedition and crosses the mountains without staving or getting caught up in a long formation and ambushed 5. prince encounters a tribe in the central valley and treats with their chieftain 6. chief seems to dig the serene one and rather than sacrifice his rather powerful witch daughter offers her to the prince 6. the chief and prince lead a homebrew crusade against the old gods and rally more tribes under their banner 7. after years of war prince unifies the peninsula, the chief dies before the war ends and as he is married to the witch he is seen as the new great chief 8. prince is pronounced first king of Osetina by acclaim 8. a new expedition is sent after years of assuming the prince is dead and the raids not really stopping until recently (decentralized tribes, news is slow) 9. prince marches to meet the expedition
Just to recap @Darkspleen The whole premise was they were the direct offspring of the last primordials and weren't into the whole mortality thing, so they found a way to sacrifice others with primordial blood to stay alive. The ritual slowly warped them into eldritch monsters with powerful magic, but an ever decreasing humanity. 1400 years later they were just gradually weakening animals fed by a fearful populace that honoured them as gods. The Founding Prince came around and led the rebellion that united the tribes and slaughtered the old 'gods' who were powerful by the standards of the mages 200-300 years ago but by that point so starved that they were basically just extraordinarily powerful magical animals.
Relations
How does your country interact with its neighbors. I am not looking for a list of exports and imports, but feel free to add them if you want. At bare minimum I want a listed rival here, another country that yours viewed as an enemy and actively worked against during the past twenty or so years.
The Serene Kingdom of Lynnfaire is ruled by a monarch, supplemented by a council of nobles and maintains its authority from the Church. The monarchy is passed down from parent to child, with no specifications on gender, although it is presumably usually male. The administrative body of the kingdom is feudal.
With the recent death of the previous King, the throne was claimed by his daughter as he had no sons; however, the new Queen’s cousin, a Duke, claimed that he was next in line since he was the next plausible male. Conservative nobles supported the Duke while more progressive nobles supported the Queen and eventually a civil war of chevauchee and strife broke out, much to the irritation of the Church.
Geography
Lynnfaire is comprised of temperate and fertile grasslands, which in turn are bordered by gentle hills and tall mountains. The landscape is well irrigated by natural babbling streams and brooks that cut across the grass, and many types of fauna roam the copses that pock the fields. Most of the forests are deciduous and congregate on the sides of the mountains and edges of the valleys, with apple groves common lower near the fields.
A massive sea wall of legendary age and construction holds back the ocean from a significant portion of the heartland area of Lynnfaire, and the revealed ancient sea bed gone valley is prime for agriculture and society.
Culture
Contemporary Lynnfaire is very much a cradle of gentle civilization, with its extensive agriculture, its faith in the church, and long history at its core. While the long and arduous history of Lynnfaire and the Serene Church play a major role in the culture of Lynnfaire, the constant working of the land has also impacted the way people live in the Kingdom.
The common peasant of the land knows Lynnfaire at its truest, and works as the real portrait of the Kingdom. Most peasants are completely free in the feudal sense, and they are allowed to leave their lords land, so long as they can find a new lord to rent from (albeit the costs of this are terribly inconvenient and it is easier to simply stay put or to take the chance and move to a burg). Some peasants outright buy or inherit the land they work on and live as yeomen, serving no lord’s manor directly in peace, but still answering to the baron during times of war or tax.
Of course hamlets, towns and cities also have various crafts and trades to be done, and many peasants find themselves as the ones to do it. They either rent or own their home, which could be a shared hovel to a family house, depending on their trade and wealth.
All these commoners work under the local authority which more often than not is a baron, who is tasked with keeping the peace, the law, and the collection of taxes/rents, who in turn answers to the count and so forth. Opulence isn’t a large rash in the lower nobility but, greater counts and dukes tend to live very large in Lynnfaire, enjoying the spoils of the land and the wealth it brings.
Nobility or commoner, both attend the weekly masses at the local parish, be it outside by the hamlet center, the Lord’s Manor, or in a stained glass cathedral that would make the Lynndians of yore blush. The sermons are presented by the priests, also known as the deacons of the church, while in some cases (usually among more noble parishes) the bishop or archbishop will deliver the mass. A mass is held on every weeks beginning, and three days after. Work is not enforced on any Lords Manor during the masses, and in the case of the Firstday’s mass, not at all that day. Thirdsday mass only lasts one hour past the end of the sermon, giving the people a slightly shorter work day. Many farmers work on the Thirdsday mass despite it not being enforced, as it is still highly encouraged.
Everyone loves to impress during mass days, and most commoners break out their best wool clothes, some even have had the chance to get them dyed the bright blue of the gerre flowers that grow in the heartlands, and because of this many masses end up looking like a blue sea of woolen people: coincidentally the color of the church’s banner.
A common ceremony during the harvest sermon is to mark the foreheads of the people with the gerre dye in the form of a circle, the symbol of the Serene One’s order, and many farming lads and lasses make off hand bets on who will work the hardest that harvest to sweat it off first: with the prize usually being the other gamblers desert that night (usually a sweetened cooked apple in sauce, or a flaky pastry of white flour and honey).
The people of Lynnfaire boast a wide and vibrant food palette for their many meals, where even at the most basic and humble of peasants experience breakfast (usually some form of cooked oat and fruit), a midday snack or luncheon (usually leftovers from the previous supper), and the final meal of the day, the supper.
Suppers are considered very important socially. Many families get together for suppers each day, especially among the poor. Suppers include small amounts of meats, large amounts of grains, vegetables, yogurts and cheeses, with cooked fruits and honeyed pastries for dessert (one of the most important parts of the meal). The church is fond of the Lynnfaire suppers, claiming it is a physical representation of the joy of paradise after a long day of working towards order as well as a good way to build camaraderie. The poorer families tend to do stews and broths to make up for less proteins, while richer families have more roasted meats, including goat, sheep, duck, chicken, pig and very very rarely cow. Drinks tend to be brewed, to stem off any possible waterborne infections and disease, and come in the form of ciders and beers, with the richer families dipping into honey-apple wines and brandy.
The common Lynnfairean dresses to stay warm in the winter months and cool in the summer months, sticking to layers of cloaks, trousers, tunics, and leather belts for men, and dresses, cloaks, capes and smocks for women.
It is important to note at this point that Lynnfaire is on a tipping point in regards to the separation of women and men. The Kingdom has become more progressive over the years but still hold women in the light as have different societal roles than men. While this is rapidly changing with the Queen’s take-over and emergence of the progressive movement, many conservative minds are resisting heartily and the older generations sometimes see it as silly.
The hillmen of the Drouschester hills are a culture in their own. From the grassy hills of south eastern Drouschester to the rocky cliffs of the northwest, the Hillmen are a proud regional identity. The Drouschester hillmen culture revolves heavily around hillside agriculture and hunting. The colors of the hillmen are a earthy green and their symbol is the Longbow, usually a single piece of ash, elm or yew.
Their culture revolves around the bow, as young men and women are trained in the art of the draw at a young age, both genders providing for the family by time they are in their teens. A common saying is to stand to the left of the Hillmen, incase you spook one and they catch you with their right, which is usually well swelled with muscle by adulthood.
The common game of the hills are deer, rabbits, and duck, all of which eventually find themselves back into the very weapon used to kill them as duck fr fletching, deer for sinew, and rabbit for the archer’s thumb-ring.
Just like in the heartlands the Hillmen observe the church and are often found to be even more devout than most, having put a lot of their faith in the power of local parishes to maintain order among their scattered villages.
→ Mist-talkers:
Mist Talkers are a magical sect of people usually from Serene Kingdoms. The term originated due to the blue mist that spills from the mouths of the Talker during incantations or during strong displays of emotion.
A Mist Talker’s ability to call forth the mist is a powerful boon, with the mist summoned able to take many different actions and forms. Some examples include blasts of healing energy bolting from the mist like lightning from a cloud to aid friendly individuals, or the billowing mist collecting around enemies and slowing them down, forcing them into lethargy. Further still, the mist can seemingly impress the lethargy on inanimate objects in its own folds, pacifying projectiles and other forces that enter, allowing friendly individuals to escape or counter.
Military
The Lynnfaire militaries are commonly levied from the local lords, lead by nobles, and sent on chevauchee campaigns to force other lords into submission and surrender.
wip
Heroes
History
After the death of King Edward d’Montigue, his eldest daughter, Abigail, claimed his throne. Before her official coronation, her right to rule was disputed by her cousin Duke William d’Montigue of Drouschester. The Duke claimed that he is the next available male on the line of succession since King Edward had only daughters. His claims caused a stir as more conservative nobles backed him.
Despite the growing crowd behind William, Abigail refused to abdicate, marking her as potentially the first female monarch of Lynnfaire. Her daring speeches and powerful remarks during the diets enforced her tenacity and rallied progressive as well as the more impressed nobles behind her claim. Knowing the nobles were split, William beseeched the archbishop of Drouschester as well as the Archbishop of Kamwell, and while Drouschester promised to bring the issue to the council, Kamwell refused to get the council involved in secular politics that could potentially split the nation against the order. Drouschester’s request was approved by the council, but due to the nature of the requests, the council decided to refrain from any coronations until the nation was no longer split on their decision to avoid further conflict.
During the diet of Olmsbridge, Duke William, backed by Duke Lawrence of Ryleau, demanded the noblemen and women of the nation make their final decision. The diet was split and the respective nobles retreated back to their holds in case of retribution from either party. Abigail retained her father’s holdings, including the capital, Urelnnde, and her prime supporters were neighboring counties and duchies to her father’s own dukedom, Kamwell, heartland of the Kingdom. William traveled north to Drouchester, where he found most of his support.
For three months no one made a move, while the council and the people of Lynnfaire watched cautiously. A minor skirmish broke out by the border of Ryleau and the county of Rownstetaine, and while it is unknown which side started the battle, both sides were already prepared. Count d’Rownstetaine suffered a devastating defeat, and the war had begun.
For the first year of war, William showed iron gauntlet strength and power, using his connections in the northern mountains and hills to bring Lynnfaire steel down upon the heartland agrarian nobles who refused his claim. His tactful use of heavy mounted knights, highly trained yeoman soldiers, and hillmen in chevauchee’s and raids pushed many nobles under his wings. The Duke made it a point to be swift, avoiding the Queen’s larger heartland army whenever possible, and striking them at odd angles when battle was unavoidable. By the end of the first year, many nobles transferred over to the Duke, and the agrarian heartland was in flames.
The Duke heavily lobbied the Archbishops during this time, claiming his ruthless tactics to be only symptoms of him trying to end the war and restore order as quickly as possible. While some may be skeptical, it is hard to doubt the honesty of his statement, as he has been known to show sympathy, striking only where he must to strategically take a region. His examples and lobbying gained him the unofficial support of the church, as they hoped backing him would quickly bring the slaughter to a close.
At the start of the Second year, the Queen was no longer hesitant to show battle, and the war was in full swing. She had learned to split her army to capture chevauchee bands, and to encircle and route the Duke’s forces. She began her own chevauchee campaign near Drouchester’s hills in an attempt to bring the fight away from the agrarian heartlands, as well as disrupt the use of heavy knights.
Her successes were credited to her ability to delegate the command of the military to her father’s most trusted generals, as well as her ability to rally the people of the heartlands, claiming that only by showing fortitude can they force the Duke back to the hills, and eventually close the war. The progressive movement of Lynnfaire idolized her audacity in the face of danger or defeat and many of the younger populations grew to adore her, while the conservatives continued to support William.
Near the second half of the second year the Queen hired a new strategist who for four months was simply known as the Raven-Lord for their enigmatic personality and hidden face of the new employee. Before the church and nobles could grow too suspicious of the new addition, the advice of the Raven-Lord proved fruitful, as the Queen began to slow down the Duke’s hammer fisted chevauchee in the heartland, and even redirect the attacks away from vital farming communities. The people and the church were both impressed, and relieved as some resemblance of normal order returned to the heartlands. Upon the success and acceptance of the Raven-Lord, they were unmasked, and shown to not only be a woman, but a protestant. The Church was uneasy to praise a protestant, but the results were favorable.
While the progressive population was empowered by the results of the Raven-Lord, and the church happy with the return of some order, it was also frightening to them. With the Queen showing a fighting spirit and the ability to route the Duke, and the Duke maintaining the war with his commanding leadership, vast support of nobles, and conservatives, all sides feared the war would be prolonged by the even match. And thus the second year ended, the new battlefield: the hills of Drouchester.
Relations
Characters
After the revolts in the west, and the defeat of the oppressive Primordial regime, the freedom movement in Lynnfaire spread like a wildfire, and the movement adopted Halwende as its leader. By this point Halwende was already the face of independence and his blade had already tasted many Primordial underlings, but with the support of the movement, Halwende’s targets moved up from local oppressors to the highest authorities in the Lynnde Empire.
The Serene religion burst onto the scene around this time as well, breaking from the underground to reinforce the freedom movement, and the destruction of the Lynnde Empire. The original Serenists used the stories of order and the Serene One to pin the Primordials to their crimes of tyranny and as a way to fill the power vacuum as the movement progressed.
Halwende was not recorded to be in relation with the Serene movement initially, but after a massive revolt he had tended to in Upper Kamwell, it is said he suddenly converted. His conversion is often attributed to his finding of a glassy orb the Freedom fighters referred to as “The Piece of Paradise.” The Piece of Paradise is attributed to be the Serene One’s eye in the mortal realm, and upon its discovery, it is said that Halwende had learned the secrets of the mist talkers from it, bringing the magical form to Lynnfaire.
With the Serene movement making the majority of the freedom movement, and Halwende acting as the joint between the two, the once oppressed mortals of Lynnfaire managed to amass such an army as to storm Urelynnde itself. In the palace of Urelynnde, Halwende gave battle to the Lord Emperor of all Lynnde, and with the secrets of the Mist-Talkers, and his mundane blade, he managed to best the Emperor in battle, slaying him in the throne room. Art depicts the Lord Emperor to be a titanous figure of a hundred hands and eyes, and often shows Halwende bearing down upon him with both sword and orb in each hand.
After the death of the Lord Emperor and fall of Urelynnde, the rebels quickly cleaned up all remaining stragglers of the Lynnde administration. The leaders of the rebellion formed the first Serene Council, laying the foundations for their new church to ensure order remains in Lynnfaire, their first act, crowning Halwende king of the new Lynnfaire Nation, named so after the words Lynn and words Faire, meaning Free Land.
Halwende’s dynasty saw rapid growth of Lynnfaire and even an imperial movement, but also intense religious fervor and support for the church. Throughout the ages his sword was used as the badge of office for the monarchy, but the Piece of Paradise is said to be lost, or even personally hidden by Halwende, the way of the Mist Talkers having already spread during the rebellion.
In the beginning the world was right with order and peace, ruled solely by the hand of the Serene One. In a moment that may be described as a mistake, The Serene One allowed the creation of a new being, the primordials. For a long time the primordials frolicked in the paradise of the Serene one; however, over time the first beings created proved to be rebellious with their free will and eventually brought chaos into the world. In an attempt to right this wrong the Serene One cast the first beings from the world, but sadly too much damage was already done. The world was cast into chaos and disorder, shutting the Serene One from the world.
All that remained were the mortals, dregs of the first ones, and the smallest of creation. They were quickly tasked by their creator, the Serene One, to rebuild order upon the chaotic world, so that some day the Serene One may return in full and re-establish paradise.
To rebuild order there must be structure, and so the Church was born. The written codes and laws of the Serene One was to be kept safe and ministered by priests, who in turn are to be organized by bishops, who in turn are organized by Archbishops, who in turn decide the fate of the church through the high council of Archbishops.
The church supports a strong nobility, and chivalry. Nobles are not to be harmed or displaced in battle or politics, so they may rule orderly, and the lower classes are to obey and be productive so they may too remain orderly. The sovereigns are to be trusted with administering nations on behalf of the Serene One, and no other religious order or structure should interfere with the Good Serene Ones work on this world, So says the Serene One.
The ultimate authority remains in the hands of the Archbishops to ensure order is kept and rules and mandates are followed and created properly, and in turn governments administer to the populace in their own choosing, so long as it is orderly and conforms to the church law. All must do their part in rebuilding order, all must remain at their task at hand and seek nothing further or less.
War is unnecessary but should upheaval arise it is on the feudal lords and governances to quickly quell battles with battles in such a way to leave order intact.
The fundamental virtues of the church are humility, temperance, generosity, compassion, and order. The fundamental beliefs is that while magic exists, it exists to serve mortals so that they may more effectively bring back order to the chaotic world. The Serene One is the only true creator and way back to paradise, and the first beings are the bringers of chaos and sin. Despite no longer being of this world, the Serene One watches and quietly intervenes with the world around us, indirectly pushing us back to order and smiting chaos.
In the end of times the sun will freeze, and so will all creation. The moon then will erupt in blue flame and the orderly shall thaw, releasing a blue mist with which the Serene One will arise from to reclaim paradise. Everything will be of order and perfection once more, and all chaos will be frozen.
Note: There is an underlying protestant movement in the Serene Church that while it upholds the cosmic beliefs of the church and the underlying values, it disagrees with the absolutism or necessity of the high council, and is against class restrictions/class oppression.
Brief history of the church: The church began at an unknown date far lost in the age of Legends. It survived as a murmuring, a cult among the oppressed mortals of the Lynnde Empire. Only during the Mortal Revolts did the religion break free from a murmur and turn into a wildfire among the rebels. It wasn't until the complete fall of the Lynnde empire, and the rise of the new mortal Ruler, Halwende, that it became proper church.
Theocracy To say that the drow are governed by a matriarchal theocracy is both accurate and misleading. It is certainly true that the ruling members of drow society are the priestesses of Nemesis and the matrons (and other matriarchs of the great houses), but calling them a “government” is a misnomer. Just as the drow are guided by tradition but have no formal law, they are overseen by these influential personages but have no formal government. A drow city has no duchess, reeve, or mayor; the drow nation Ravinkra thus has no empress or queen. The great Houses of Ravinkra, perhaps unsurprisingly with this knowledge, are not as collectively united as many outsiders might think. Primarily a theocracy, in theory, it is the cult of Nemesis that holds true power in the decentralized realms of Ravinkra. Residing in the de-facto capital of Nevar, Grand priestess Nathra Beltion'lyr’s will is as close to law in Ravinkra as one can get. As a direct descendant of the primordial Nemesis herself, her word is seen as a direct divine mandate by the Goddess of Slaughter herself. Beneath the Grand Priestess resides four High Priestess Matriarchs- each rule's their own city hold of which they oversee complete rulership. Due to many circumstances, each city sees a great intake of much-needed slave labor or trading, thus beneath each city Matriarch are the legendary black fleets of Ravinkra. Each ruled by a High Captain, all pirate lords and each of which lead a smaller faction, or gang, called a "flagship" named after its respective captain. The true power in each city, however, resides within its Iron Seat Council. A roundtable of powerful priestess oversee many of the cities more domestic and commercial ventures making Ravinkra in true a Magocracy, as many of these priestesses, save often times the one High Captains, are skilled sorceresses.
Nathra herself sits at the head of the combined so-called Mithril Council who decide on matters that affect all of Ravinkra and its great houses.
Geography This should be more just a claim of your location. Talk about the climate, terrain, and important locations in your country. Specifically, mention major cities and your capital. Bonus points if you have an internal map that includes highways.
Culture
Ravriens as a people favor cunning, intelligence and agility over brute strength. Swords and axes are the hallmarks of a barbarian, not a civilized person. For this reason, most Ravriens found outside the borders of their underground home realm typically scholars or seekers of knowledge, though most are encounter their corsair counterparts. This quest for knowledge or power can come in many forms, whether through the practice of sorcery, the study of the body and the poison making arts, or the stealthy practice of assassination or thievery on the high seas. Each pursuit is equally valid in a Ravrien’s eyes because they require intellect, education, and discipline; qualities they believe to be lacking in the lesser races of the age.
Ravinkra society, as a whole, lacks any concept of personal worth. An individual’s abilities or accomplishments are not, in and of themselves, of any importance whatsoever. The culture does not reward skill for skill’s sake or celebrate individual success or ability. It’s not that the Ravinkin chooses to downplay these factors; instead, they literally have no notion that they should matter. It is as foreign an idea to them as judging a person’s worth based on shoe size would be to most surface-dwelling races. The only true measure of importance in drow society is how thoroughly and effectively an individual can direct, shape, and change that society—in other words, by how much authority an individual has over other drow and the community’s needed resources.
Although personal ability and accomplishment, or birth into a powerful bloodline, often leads to such control- as is the case of the Favored Daughter of Nemesis who rules over the church- it is the influence itself that determines a drow’s station and status. Like many other sentient beings, the drow thinks regarding dichotomies: If something is not good, it must be bad; if it is not strong, it must be weak.
Thus, if a drow with authority over others is worthwhile, a drow with little or no authority is worthless. When nothing but status and influence determine the individual value and life itself is of no intrinsic worth, a weak drow is nothing but a commodity to be traded, abused, and eventually exhausted by those more powerful. Enslavement, torture, and even murder are not crimes when the perpetrator is a drow of high stature, and the victim is not. Drow do avoid randomly slaughtering others who offend them, but this is due to a concern that they might accidentally slay the relative, servant, or slave of someone more powerful, not out of any sense of the value of life.
This core belief in power has developed the drow culture as it exists today: a society in which every interaction is determined by a dominant/submissive hierarchy. A drow divides everyone drow or otherwise—into only three categories: someone with more power, who must be appeased and placated (at least until she can be replaced); someone who is a useful tool to one’s own advancement, who must be exploited in all possible ways; and the weak, who are worthless except as labor or disposable troops. From a general giving order to her soldiers to a shopkeeper bargaining with a customer, everything is about who holds the most power. Haggling, for instance, is all but unheard of. If a client is of higher station than a vendor, she pays what she chooses; if she is lower, she pays what the vendor demands or receives no goods.
Only when it comes to trade with non-drow is bargaining an option, and even then vendors must take care, for fear of accidentally offending the slave of a powerful drow. A drow who refuses the orders of one with more power has earned whatever tortures that act brings down upon her and can expect no pity or aid from by others.
The Merciless Hosts
The drow of Ravinkra have a saying regarding the waging of war. “If you allow the enemy to strike back; the first battle is already lost.” The drow don't believe in massive, overt confrontations, with soldier meeting soldier on the field of battle, arrows, and spells flashing by overhead as spear meets shield and sword meets sword. They’ll fight that way if they must, but they greatly prefer tactics that involve stealth, surprise, multipronged assaults, or sabotage—anything that allows them to win a battle before the foe has an opportunity to retaliate.
Almost all drow of Ravinkra learn the basics of combat during their schooling—the better to survive in their violent society—but only a few of them study warfare, strategy, and tactics to a professional degree. The drow instinct for self-preservation discourages them from becoming career soldiers, so those who do are valuable commodities: Many obtain surprising amounts of influence with a house or the church, or make a good living as mercenaries. Military officers train not only in standard tactics of siege and battlefield confrontation, but in techniques of covert troop movement, counterintelligence, and diversionary tactics (up to and including the sacrifice of one’s own personnel).
Ravinkra tactics involve mundane weapons and magic in equal measure. Their strategies usually involve small, carefully placed strike teams.These highly skilled units carry out assassination or sabotage, and often reduce or eliminate the need for a larger force. When drow do wage war, they focus their might primarily on the opposition’s officers and rulers, making every effort to behead the opposing leadership and thus render the army ineffectual. Barring that, they target supply lines or poison food stores, resorting to direct confrontation only when all else has failed.
The Merciless Host of Ravinkra, the 'allied' household troops of each of the dominant Houses of the under-empire, prefer to be the aggressors in any military action, and their strategies are designed with an offense in mind. When faced with an attacking force, they still attempt to make use of smaller groups as described above, but they are far more likely to field a large force of troops—if only to delay the advance while their operatives work, or while the Merciless Host's leaders retreat to safer, better-hidden locations. Some drow fortresses have no viable mundane entrance and require magic to access. Although this method of construction makes supplying the fortress difficult, many drow have found the effort worthwhile when an enemy proved incapable of breaking in.
The most significant problem the drow have with fighting a defensive battle, as opposed to an offensive one, is determining who is in command of the war effort. The Ravinkra Houses do not have standing armies that answer to the community itself; all military forces belong to a house, the priesthood, or other private factions. Most drow attacks are launched by a specific house, or at the instigation of the church, and thus have a clear chain of command. Conversely, more than one Ravinkra city has fallen to aggressors because local houses could not cooperate sufficiently to coordinate their soldiers, even in the face of outside invasion.
Tactics As mentioned above, The Merciless Host avoids direct confrontation when they can. They prefer lightning raids, ambushes, sabotage, and assassination to battlefield combat. In their eyes, the best battle is not merely one in which they were victorious, but in which the enemy never had a chance to strike back. Two primary factors drive this philosophy, which is common to almost all drow military minds despite the race’s individualistic nature. First, these techniques allow the drow a far greater chance of victory.
Like all elves, Ravinkra drow lack the physical hardiness and constitution of other races. They tire more swiftly, and they can be slain more easily. Assuming equal skill and equal numbers, the drow is at a disadvantage in a drawn-out, straightforward melee. Also, their tendency to use smoke bombs and commit to night time raids allows them to sow chaos and confusion, opening up the perfect opportunity to launch a surprise assault, and their natural night-sight combined with their heightened dexterity makes sniping a most attractive option.
The second and more influential factor is the drow instinct for self-preservation. Every enemy that is cut down without the chance to strike back means one less blade, bow, or spell that might take the life of a drow. The drow are not necessarily cowards, but they are utterly and ruthlessly pragmatic. The notion of honorable combat or a fair fight is alien to most of them, and those who have been introduced to the concept find it both repellent and foolish.
Any tactic that offers the Merciless Hosts a chance at victory with minimal danger to themselves is worth considering, no matter how brutal, horrific, or convoluted it might be. And, as always, although a commander would rather sacrifice her non-drow minions than other drow, she happily sacrifices other drow to protect her own life.
Blitz Attacks and Swift Retreats: Whether it’s a lightning raid on a surface town, a group assassination, or an unavoidable direct battle, Ravinkra prefers to strike hard, strike fast, and then vanish. Prolonged confrontation is the worst possible military situation for the Merciless Host. When possible, they have specific goals laid out in advance often assigning objectives to individual operatives and groups—and they remain on the field only as long as they must accomplish those goals, or until it becomes clear that they cannot.
At least, this is the theory. In practice, the pride and arrogance of many drow prevent them from declaring an operation a failure and aborting when they should, leading to precisely the sort of prolonged battle they wished to avoid. Wise and experienced drow, however, know that their best bet is to attempt to crush the opposition with a single overwhelming or strategically placed strike, and then withdraw whether or not they succeeded. It is during these retreats, either when an objective has been achieved, or the drow commander has decided an attack has failed, that many of the non-drow soldiers are sacrificed.
Ravinkra officers frequently order units to remain behind and continue fighting, as if they were still working toward a particular goal. This tactic not only covers the escape of the officers, it often prevents the enemy from realizing that the battle, so far as the drow are concerned, has ended. As the drow see it, military and political assassination is just another form of this “quick strike” philosophy. Remove an enemy’s command structure, and you’ve removed his ability to mount a coordinated war effort. The Merciless Host makes every attempt to identify enemy leaders, and they deliberately target them both in combat and for assassination off the battlefield.
The Merciless Hosts The armies of Ravinkra, as mentioned before, are created from a coalition of the Major Houses of the five cities. The Merciless Hosts usually are divided down into banners under the matron of each family. They, in turn, answer only to the Favored Daughter of Nemesis currently in power.
Ravinkra Housetroops: Ravinkra warriors form the core of these drow armies, being composed mostly of civilian volunteers and conscripts. The drow are still a reasonably militant race having descended from the noble people of Xil’etha. As many are raised from birth as soldiers and raiders, learning early on in their lives that they have only that which they can take.
Minions: The drow prefer to let others do their fighting for them, and the average Merciless Hosts consists of only a few actual drow in officer and special operative positions. The remainder is composed of minions, hired soldiers, and slaves, from orcs, goblins, kobolds to humans. The drow make use of these meatshields primarily as foot soldiers to overwhelm the enemy, and as disposable fodder to absorb arrows, spells, and attacks that might otherwise threaten the drow themselves. The people of Ravinkra respect a military mind skilled enough to return with the majority of her army intact, but no particular stigma is attached to losing many or even most of one’s non-drow soldiers. Throwing them away unnecessarily is considered wasteful, but no more so than disposing of ammunition or other supplies.
During the tail end of the Era of Legends following the Great War that saw the remnants of Xil’etha Empire retreat into their current underground home. The primordial Nemesis with the aid of her most powerful of her children constructed several structures known simply as Dread Arks. These massive citadels were created to allow the Ravinkra to rebuild their strength and were designed to travel through the underwater caves and coves along the southern coast.
Heroes
Grand priestess Nathra Beltion'ly, Chosen of Nemesis
Nathra is the fourth Chosen of Nemesis, great great granddaughter of the primordial Nemesis herself. WIP
History
Relations
How does your country interact with its neighbors. I am not looking for a list of exports and imports, but feel free to add them if you want. At bare minimum, I want a listed rival here, another country that yours viewed as an enemy and actively worked against during the past twenty or so years.
Characters
Optional section. Put any info about any characters here. Examples of this would be your kings or queens, military leaders, and non-hero “badasses”. You can also put more detailed info of your heroes here as well.
Vlaanburg is a confederation of semi-independent states, with political power dominated by a vampyric elite. At the pinnacle sits the Archon, who acts as head-of-state. Succession is not hereditary, although the Archon’s heir is an obvious candidate. Instead, new Archons are chosen by Electors - lords with the right to elect successive rulers. The Archon’s power is far from absolute. Each province is governed by its own lord. The Archon is “first among equals,” in the sense that he acts as the head of the Electors, who are powerful in their own right.
The Archon does not control the entire military of the Electorates, although may act as commander-in-chief of coordinated military efforts between states. His taxes and resources are collected from his own province and the military units under his direct control are paid via his own own personal treasury. Likewise, each of the Electors and provincial lords collect and spend taxes from his respective province. They recruit and pay their own provincial armies; in some cases, a wealthy Elector may be able to recruit and maintain a larger army than the Archon himself.
The Archon and his Electors are vampires. They are the descendants of a powerful strain of Primordials that lived on the continent in the Era of Legends. Many are hundred of years old. The exact nature of their race is unbeknownst to the general population, but it is common knowledge that they are very old, outliving generations of human dynasties. Most chalk this up to their Primordial blood and question them no further. Besides their longevity, they live and reign no differently than human lords.
Beneath the Electors are provincial rulers, who may be dukes, counts, barons or governors of smaller regions within the Electorates. They appoint the governors of cities, although there are many free cities run by elected councils. Some regions have weaker aristocratic backgrounds, where democratic practices and guild-rule are the norm. Others are patricianships, in which ruling families are more historically ingrained to the region. Local administrations may or may not be vampires themselves.
Geography
Detailed map & information forthcoming.
The central Electorate states are located in the valley of the _ River. This plain extends across the core of the confederation, from the coast to the foothills of the Wetternitz mountain range. The _ River valley is the most populous region of the Electorates. The river is the largest in the provinces, and diverges into many small channels. It runs through many major cities, with dykes in place to control flooding. The Wetternitz is the natural northern and western border of the Electorates and is a natural defense against invasion from either direction.
The core of the Electorates has a continental climate, with cold summers, hot winters and plenty of rainfall. Snow is frequent in winter months, and thick fog is commonplace throughout the year. The climate of the Wetternitz mountain range is alpine with lots of precipitation year-round. The peninsular and coastal regions have a typical Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers, whereas winters are mild.
Culture
Vampires are a powerful race, sired by Primordials in the Era of Legends. Today, they are very rare, and have consolidated their numbers around the Electorates, making up the highest echelons of government, although not all vampires are political leaders. They are indistinguishable from normal humans at a glance; the only tell-tale signs of vampirism are their fangs and lack of reflection. They are a far cry from the monsters of folklore and legends; they do not sulk through forests at night, nor are they undead spirits from the grave. Vampires are a race in their own right, and are long-lived. It’s true that vampires have an affinity for blood, but it isn’t necessary to sustain them - it has an effect comparable to alcohol. Many vampires choose not to drink at all, to better coexist with their human subjects. It is not forbidden to feed on humans, but it is to kill them. Those that succumb to their bloodlust and leave corpses in their wake are ostracized and hunted down, if their sprees are heinous enough.
Vampires are endowed with extreme strength and supernatural abilities. They can turn invisible for periods of time, and transform into a ‘bestial’ state, in which they become terrifying, bat-like monsters with razor sharp claws and powerful jaws. In bouts of emotion a glimpse of these forms may come to light - bestial visages and long talons. They can paralyze enemies with a gaze and are immune to fire and sunlight. They have regenerative abilities, allowing them to heal wounds, even lost limbs. The period of time depends on the severity of the damage. Beheadings can take decades or longer to regenerate; longer still if the body has been mutilated, burned and scattered into the winds.
The mortal population of the Electorates is well aware of their lords’ supernatural lifespans, as generations pass without a change in Archons or Electors. But the true extent of their being is known to few. As far as the average villager is concerned, they owe their titles to their Primordial heritage and that’s good enough. Even vampires that live normal lives outside of politics are rarely suspect, unless a farmer finds his sheep bled dry in the morning. Vampires, however, are obliged to follow a number of unwritten codes designed to facilitate coexistence with mortals and to maintain the existence of their race. These codes are enforced by a shadowy council of elder vampires that oversee happenings within and without the provinces. Their existence is virtually unknown outside of the Electorates, and the Archon only consults them when absolutely necessary.
The human population of the Electorates is united in language and in faith, but can be expected to display more loyalty to their own provinces than the Electorates as a whole. When it comes to their home states, they are fiercely patriotic and proud of their respective histories. Still, they differ by social standing and geographic location, with city dwellers and rural communes having different outlooks on life, traditions and dialects. Local governments differ from province to province, and even within from urban centers to forest villages. One thing that they all share is stubbornness and dependability. Beyond arms and tactics, their rugged determination and refusal to yield earned them their independence from much larger neighboring kingdoms.
Military
The Electorate military is structured around a core of infantry, pioneering a fighting style analogous to the real-world Swiss pikemen. Its armies are organized into vanguard, center and rearguard formations. These columns emphasize tactics meant to outmaneuver the enemy, before overcoming them in close combat. Electorate pikemen have gained worldwide renown for their ferocity, their refusal to take prisoners, and the stubbornness with which they hold their ground. Although referred to ubiquitously as ‘pikemen,’ Electorate formations include halberdiers and skirmishers armed with crossbows.
A major factor of the Electorates’ military effectiveness is its ability to draw up large numbers at a given time. This is achieved by a three-tiered system of conscription - a corps of capable men aged eighteen to thirty, a category of older men ready and able to serve away from home if need arose, and a mass levée raised only in dire emergencies. The exact number of conscripts raised per locale is decided upon by local authorities.
Unique among the Electorate military is the nomination of officers - contingents are led by elected individuals, chosen at muster by the administration of that contingent’s community. War councils are often conducted democratically, with officers from separate contingents present to coordinate tactics and maneuvers. For this reason, few supreme military commanders are found in Vlaanburg’s history, but its victories are testament to the system’s success.
Soldiers are obliged to purchase their own arms and armor, although local communities are responsible for repairing damaged equipment. In some exceptional cases (outlying villages, cities, guilds) provincial administrations must finance their own corps. Each soldier is expected to carry a week’s worth of rations with him to muster.
The average infantryman dons a blackened, munitions-grade plate on his breast over a quilted gambeson. He wears a kettle helm or sallet and additional protection if he can afford it, such as a gorget to protect his throat and tassets over his thighs. The principal weapon is a pike with a tapered head about 4.5 meters long, while some soldiers carry halberds. Both weapons are paired with an arming sword. Crossbowmen are armored much the same way, with slightly less protection than their frontline counterparts. They carry pavise shields on their backs, with which they can hide behind and operate their crossbows safely.
Heroes
TBD
TBD
History
The original Vlaanburgers were known as the Berditii - an ancient tribe of peoples living under the shadow of the Vlaanburg Mountains. They were subjugated by the Lynndian Empire during the Era of Legend, and so became Imperial subjects. These tribes revered a number of Primordials that had called the region home, and in turn, the Primordials were their guides and caretakers. During the Lynndian occupation of the Vlaanburg peninsula, some of these Primordials rose against the Empire, sparking the Mortal Revolts. To counter the Empire’s military strength, they created the race known today as vampires - nigh immortal beings instilled with a measure of the Primordials’ godly power. These vampires became the commanders and elite troops of the mortal Vlaanburger armies.
The Mortal Revolts spanned a number of years and saw key battles wrest territories out of Lynnde’s grasp. At their conclusion, the Vlaanburgers were liberated, and used the opportunity to expand their own lands. Their vampiric allies gradually settled into leadership positions of new territories and in prominent positions in human courts. They began to take on the role of the Primordials, who had fought themselves to extinction during the Mortal Revolts. The independence of the tribes brought peace and prosperity for a time, but as local chieftains styled themselves as petty kings and claimed more land, they often came to blows.
They remained a free people until threatened by King Alfred d'Halwende of Lynnfaire, eager to reclaim land his ancestors once ruled as the Lynndian Empire. In Era of Heroes 208, four urban communities - Volksingen, Bergen, Kraften and Lichtenburg - established an alliance to oppose Lynnfaire. This original alliance gave rise to the Vlaanburg Electorates, which solidified after a series of engagements and a decisive victory over King Alfred. His heirs continued a long chain of struggles to assert dominance over the alliance, which had been joined by several other communes and small states. By the 400s, the alliance had twelve members.
WIP
Relations
TBD
Characters
Optional section. Put any info about any characters here. Examples of this would be your kings or queens, military leaders, and non-hero “badasses”. You can also put more detailed info of your heroes here as well.
Yaval, most ancient of Trees is effectively emperor in all but name. They are advised by 8 courts of lesser Trees based on the 8 other islands of their homeland that still support life. These courts have a very loose internal structure, but are generally ruled by the oldest and/or wisest (and the two are closely related) who in turn listen to all the other Trees on the islands. This system of government is relatively high level, working mainly about the ongoing survival of their race through diplomacy, war and the gathering of knowledge.
Local governances is left to their children, mainly because they are the ones who need to be governed. A Tree has few wants or needs other than good soil, rain and sunshine, while the Dryads have all those that regular people do. Individual groups and communities elect 3 officials, usually Dryads, to act as their leaders and 10 others who act as advisors and subordinates to the Leader. Based on the size of a group those 10 might have their own subordinates, but these are hand picked by the individuals rather than elected to prevent voting fatigue. These elected bodies server their community as best they are able, and are the ones who are entrusted to act upon any orders that come from Yaval and the courts.
The leaders are split between a civilian leader, a military leader and a tie breaker. Civilian and military leaders have unilateral authority over their aspect of society, barring orders form Yaval. However, due to the rotating system of military service employed by the empire, the military and civilian leaders swap positions once every 6 months. The tiebreaker is generally an elder figure in the community who is revered for their wisdom and is the position where it is most common to see a non Dryad fill the roll. Tiebreakers exist to intervene in situations when a problem or situation involves both aspects of Dryad life, where they will act as mediator between the two leaders and as the final decision maker if they cannot be brought to agree. In times of emergency all three leaders corporate as lead the defence of the community, with the tiebreaker once again holding final say over the course of action. The advisors are split equally between the war and civilian leaders, the tiebreaker needs no council, nor do they need others to carry out their will.
Elections are held whenever the community as a whole believes that their membership or circumstances has been shaken up enough that the current leadership is potentially no longer representative of the community’s needs or desires. This sounds vague, but thanks to the Psychic Dreamscape that links all of the Dreaming Forest in the community this feeling of change is measurable within their collective consciousness. As a result there is generally little argument about whether new elections should be held. These elections are most often helded when groups merge, often for the purpose of war, or split up in events of crisis or emigration. In the provinces the Empire has simply inserted itself into the position the kings and feudal lords used to hold, Dryad and Tree communities of governing a small area mostly independently, extracting wealth from the populace as they see fit. The only real difference is that instead of a complex web of deities and privileges, the land is now bound together by species loyalty and the presence of a living expedition of Yaval’s will growing at the heart of each of the Dreaming Forest Groves.
Geography
The Ever Green Isles: A chain of islands that is the birthplace and homeland of the Dreaming Forest. These temperate misty isles are covered in thick woods and a near ubiquitous mist. A great part of that forest is made up of The sentient Trees that rule the empire. The land is mostly free of inhabitants or settlements apart from on the coasts, where large numbers of docks made from the roots of the Trees can be found. Around these settlements made of stone and living wood can be found, bustling with Dryads and the odd Ent enjoying the spoils of empire. The Salted Groves: The four islands closest to the mainland were rendered barren and lifeless in the first war between the Empire and the Kingdom of Shenra. Only the largest of the islands is occupied by a small settlement of humans and their Dryad masters, who perform mining operations and scientific/magical experiments to see if the damage can be undone. Despite their name, the groves are not poisoned by salt, but instead by a curse created by the Kingdom of Shenra’s mages, who were greatly assisted by Apothaeos the Son of God. The curse mimics the state of the desolate lands of Netheryne located to the east Yaval: Named after it’s most notable inhabitant, the Island of Yaval is dominated by a single titanic Tree that is the ruler of the Emerald Empire. Yaval is truly ancient and is perhaps a direct child of the race’s primordial progenitor, though, because the race did not collectively gain sentience till long after the Primordial had left the islands, this fact cannot be known for sure, nor can Yaval’s claim to this semi divine status be said to be considered unique. What is unique is their size, which dwarfs even their closest rival by orders of magnitude. Yaval is so large that entire natural forests grow on the lower reaches of their trunk and roots and their upper branches brush the clouds in the sky as they pass by.
The Fractured Riverlands: The northern province of the empires mainland holdings runs from the border in the north to the river that travels from Lock Eshry to Fidgit Bay. The province is made up of most of the early acquisitions by the empire and as a result features both the mainland capital of Esterguile and the largest number of mainland Tree groves. It also contains the largest of those tree groves, a vast forest starting from the closest point to the Ever Green isles and stretching in land until it reaches large swaths of farmland at the end of the peninsula it occupies. The riverlands are a home to much of the Provincial agriculture and is as a result is sometimes referred to as the breadbasket of the entire empire. The region also has the highest population of humans and the Treekin are outnumbered four hundred to one as a result.
The region features three very long estuaries fed by two local lakes, and all of these estuaries feature at least one major port. As a result of this the region is the primary point of commerce of the whole empire, the docks filled with Living ships preparing to set off to distant lands loaded with exports, making them opposed to the homeland’s ports that are primarily import focused. The defensive nature of the estuaries and the large Tree population mean that this is the second largest source of new Living ships after the Evergreen isles themselves, and there are always a few new ships growing on the river banks and beaches of the region.
EsterGuile: Estierguile is the capital both of the Fractured Riverlands and of the Provinces as a whole. Built on the ruins of the human regional capital after the first invasion of the continent. The capital is a fortress of living wood, with many Trees growing together to form a formidable bastion out of which the rest of the conquest was launched over several subsequent wars. Growing on a bend in the estuary, the capital is surrounded on 3 sides by water, with the fourth facing the biggest Dreaming Forest on the continent. The only safe route to access the capital is via a large bridge over to the opposite side of the estuaries, made of the roots of a particularly large carnivorous tree. This makes the bridge itself both able to both fight and also able to withdraw by slowly curling those roots up against the shores of the capital. The capital is surrounded by root based docks like those found on the homeland and the whole area acts like the Evergreen isles in miniature, bringing in wealth and sending out armies via ship to gather more.
Forts like Shenrale and Merken follow the desighn of the capital, with densely packed tree trunks acting as walls and gates of living root restricting entrance. The most dangerous thing about the forts is that some of their component Trees charge defensive artifacts, can use magic or are actually sleeping Ents. This means that the fortifications of the nation are often much more sturdy and dangerous to assault than their wooden walls would infer.
The Grave of the Pioneers: The central Province consists of the land below the riverlands and above the river flowing from lake Sem to Crinwaley. Once home to an ancient Dreaming Forest, the province gets its name from their extinction at the hands of the Humans of the region. The province consists primarily of thick natural woodlands into which small young Trees have taken root. The region's primary produces are wild meats, fruits like apples and luber of the regular variety. Woe be to the lumberjack who can’t tell the difference between a fir tree and his new masters. Most of this wood is used by the Humans internally for construction and fuel, as the Dreaming Forest finding the usage of even non sentient trees in such a manner rather distasteful, though they make an exception for cooking.
The Glacial Marshes: the southern province is home to the, some say unnaturally, cold Frozen Cliffs and the quagmire of freezing swamps and marshes formed from the runoff of the glaciers that sleep on the mountains’ sides. The north of the region is home to some rather fertile farmland, centered around the town of Emway and Dreichport.
The Province also features border with the Empire of Matathran to the east, which has been fortified by the construction of forts and the planting of Carnivorous Trees and Plants. This is in response to the foreign Empire’s notable troop buildup near their borders after the conclusion of their internal conflict and rumors that they are seeking to take control of land with sea access by force if necessary. The Dreaming Forest see both danger and opportunity in the situation, for if they manage to repel the Empire, then a counter invasion could bring their first real territorial acquisition since the conquest of the Kingdom of Shenra.
After the battle of the border fortress the are has been renamed the Wall of Ash. Cher is no more, the only remainder of its place are the burning lake of blood and petrified statue of Nyranda located 1 km east of its location. To The north lies Merken fortress, a living fortress frozen beneath a 100m dome of ice created by a backfired defence attempt.
The Frozen Cliffs: The very south of the empire's territories are the Frozen Cliffs, a mountainous region of jagged peaks and chasms hiding under a tarp of snow. Home to some hardy human farmers, a smattering of monasteries and a dangerous assortment of monsters and betial races. The region holds little interest for the Dreaming Forest as a source of wealth or food and as a result only the eastern and western areas, near Dreich-Port and the Matathran border area respectivly, are truly under their control. The rest is considered not worth the effort to conquer and as a result, any attempt to take the region is greatly undermanned and poorly supplied.
In the center of these mountainous lands resides the last bastion of the Kingdom of Shenra. Home to Queen Rosabella the Third and her exile court, the small series of monasteries and villages high in the mountains is the source of much of the Empire’s internal conflict. The young Queen use it as a base to attempt to reclaim the throne, as have her ancestors before her. The freezing climate of the high mountains and the climb to reach any of the settlements mean that the Empire have simply given up on expelling their enemies and are content to let the royal line slowly dwindle into irrelevance. The enemy capital is a fortified monastery called The Holy Summit, appropriately situated near the top of one of the many peaks of the region.
Dreich-Port:the most southern of the Provincial ports, Dreich is also one of the smallest and least fortified. The city sits unwalled atop stilt platforms to protect itself from the spring floods that result from the thawing of snow and ice on the lower foothills of the Frozen Cliffs. Because of its proximity to the Kingdom it is the main port of call of their spies and informants and the last barrier of those attempting to flee up into the mountains. The general populace are the most unruly in the land thanks to whispers of freedom from servants of the kingdom, and they are more than happy to make some noise to distract the local Dryads if someone needs to slip in or out of the town. It also features a thriving black market run from smuggling operations performed using small fishing vessels smuggling goods across the Sea of lights or pack mules carrying goods up into the mountains.
Fostern Island: A formerly uninhabited small island of the south coast of the western part of the continent, Fostern has become a stopping off point for Living ships who are heading too/from foreign ports on the southern coast. The closeness of this island to one held by the Kingdom of Atharia has caused tension between the two, as has their disputed ownership of the small islands in between. The island is notable for being one of the few places where the Trees are the only vegetation around.
Gweldgale: a former independent island nation, Gweldgale was a rather prosperous nation thanks to its closeness to Huāyuán and it’s warm climate allowing it to grow plenty of unique plants for sale in foreign markets. The island was also home to a significant amount of piracy thanks to its location on the east west trade route and the fact that its continental neighbour was isolationist. This changed however when the pirates attacked a Living Ship, restraining it and dragging it back to a hidden port of Kuwd to be salvaged. The rest of the empire was unsure as to what happened to the vessel until a Dryad visiting Ostern Cove discovered a merchant selling the captured ship’s wood. Incensed, but also seeing an opportunity, the Dreaming forest invade the island shortly thereafter on the grounds of finding the source of the wood. Dryad soldiers ransacked the town, searching warehouses and interrogating locals. An attempt to expel them by the local authorities was quickly put down. After 3 days the pirates had been found and where slated to be executed by the occupying forces, but so too where several seemingly unconnected influential individuals on the island. the Empire proclaimed that the pirate scourge was deeply rooted in all areas of the inland community, including the highest rungs of its government. As the prisoners were hanged the Dryad representative informed the locals that the empire would be staying on to oversee a transition to a new, less corrupt government. Since then the island as een a colony of the Empire rn in much the same way as the provinces back on the continent. Dreaming forest sponsored officials rule the people, while in the woodlands of the north, the Dreaming forest has taken root, where it now receives taxes and handles all exports from the island.
Culture
The Dreaming Forest/Treekin
All Of The Different Trees That There Are The dreaming forest is the collective name for the Trees and their various designed offspring who sit at the top of the empire. Only the static Trees are capable of reproducing, either naturally creating more Tree seeds or by carefully magically modifying their offspring to have them grow to be one of the other various subspecies, the mobile children among the subspecies being collectively known as Treekin . The collective name for the Trees and their children comes from an interpretation by a human of a description of the psychic dreamscape that binds them all together, a fuzzy mental landscape filled with the slow, deep thoughts of the Trees that are its source. All of the Dreaming forest species are highly magical in nature, but most of it is used to maintain their unnatural minds, motion and senses. They have difficulty using that energy for other tasks, and as a result improving mana throughput is much harder for them than it is for many other races.
Being plants, the only internal organ exhibited by the members of the Dreaming forest are the rudimentary digestive systems found in dryads and living ships. Lacking even a center of their minds and being made of sapwood wood covered in bark they are all unnaturally hard to kill. If one of the Dreaming Forest is cut in half the consciousness of the individual remains in the largest part while they also maintain a connection to the severed part, which is what allows Yaval to spread their influence through planting of it’s branches to form new growths. Therefore the only way to kill Treekin is to reduce it so that no part consists of more of a quarter of its mass, burning it or starving it, generally done by removing its ability to feed and then leaving it to die.
Ever since the great fire, a blaze caused by a lightning strike during a particularly dry year in the otherwise rain soaked isles, the Trees have had an understandable fear of fire. This fear has been passed down unintentionally to their offspring, though living wood is rather damp and is, as a result, somewhat harder to set on fire than might be expected. This fear is particularly notable because the treekin lack a fight or flight reflex found in animals, meaning that young Treekin are well know for picking overestimating their own ability when picking fights. They generally outgrow this fearlessness, either by being ought or learning from mistakes, something their tenacity fully allows.
The Trees
Ancient sentient trees that grow on the Evergreen isles that are rich with primordial essence. They can grow to ancient ages and immense sizes and can communicate telepathically with one another over long distances. The ones in their home islands can all stay in touch with the neighboring islands, but can’t reach far enough to stay in touch with the mainland. To facilitate staying in contact the great Tree Yaval has had some of it’s immense branches cut off and planted on the continent, where they have grow as smaller trees that are extensions of their own will. These can be found anywhere the Empire has settled in force, surrounded by groves of lesser Trees.
Culturally the Trees see themselves as the wise philosopher kings of their kind, they thirst for knowledge and endlessly debate among themselves about high minded topics. Generally they only get involved with their children and subject’s affaires to give advice or when there is a threat to themselves or the empire as a whole. The trees are unquestionably loyal to the Empire, primarily because they have little to gain from leaving or undermining it. So long as a Tree’s own patch of ground and sky are unmolested they value the company of their kin’s collective consciousness over any minor improvement in status or living condition.
Trees have basically the same life cycle as normal trees, however once they reach about 50 years of growth, be it natural or magically accelerated, they develop the potential for consciousness. This potential is stimulated through psychic connection with their neighbors, as the elder Trees mentally raise the young Tree to be a fully fledged sentient being. As a tree grows and ages it’s psychic and magical capabilities grow as it’s mind slows down. The oldest and largest of the trees are incredibly intelligent and wise, but can take hours to respond to inputs. The Trees sense the physical world through the psychic dreamscape, though the resolution is rather dull and puts a lot of priority on motion. They can also hitchhike on the eyes of their children, sensing what they sense, though they have some difficulty interpreting this alien input.
Carnivorous Trees/plants these Trees have been grown with violence in mind. Similar to their natural progenitors in that they are routed to the spot as plants should be, they have various animated limbs, vines and flowers all made to catch and kill unsuspecting lumberjacks. Most alive today are either survivors of the war that birthed them, peaceful living lives almost identical to the Trees, whereas those on the continent have been deliberately as planted guards or as part of a fortified position during or before a battle.
For the ability to fight the carnivorous plants sacrifice a lot of their psychic potential and some of their intelligence: the young carnivores are rather feral and simple minded for the most part. Once they start to become very old and large, the plants slowly start to lose their ability to move their weapons until they end up as rather monstrous looking Trees. Time spent as a living weapon stunts their growth however, and so a former carnivore will generally be smaller than a standard Tree relative of the same age.
Carnivorous Plants are the younger version of Carnivorous Trees who, instead of having a solid trunk are instead 90% weaponry and are practically animals in their intelligence. This younger stage is often used to quickly reinforce defensive lines or create what are basically minefields, the seeds can be carried by Dryads and grown to a useful sizes in a matter of hours, though the Dryads are naturally left vulnerable while doing this. Both trees and plants are capable of disguising themselves in order to catch passing foes unawares. The trees use camouflage and a little inherent nature magic to make themselves look like a mundane tree, while the plants hide their armaments under the ground or inside neighbouring plants.
Ents: the second of The Tree’s weapons, Ents were the first attempt to make a mobile fighter to defend the Dreaming forest. They are large and have the same uncapped growth as the Trees themselves but also have the same issues as the Trees in terms of the speeds of their thoughts. Large Ents are incredibly strong and smart, but have poor reaction times. They also need to root themselves down in order to grow, absorbing nutrients from the soil during which they enter a hibernation like state that makes them almost the same as a regular Tree. Ents, unlike the smaller Dryads, do not have a particularly set shape and so, while vaguely humanoid is the most common form it is not the only one they can take: some ents are made in the shape of breasts with mouths full of thorns, others are wholly alien in appearance. Smaller Ents associated primarily with the Dryads and some could indeed be mistaken for their kin, a bit mute and cruder in appearance. As they grow they begin to drift away from active life, becoming more permanent fixtures in the Tree Groves, only awakening to come to their home’s it’s defence. The rate of this growth is based mostly on the individuals, some deliberately slow or pause their growth while others hibernate for most of their existence in order to become as large as possible. As a result of their shifting from one group to the other, the Ents are the awkward middle children of the Dreaming Forests, not quite fitting in with either their stationary or mobile peers.
The Dryads Humanoid creatures made from living wood, who can grow from heights of 4 - 8 feet. Appearance wise they resemble humans, but the accuracy of this resemblance varies based on how long the individual has to grow. Dryad born in peacetime look almost perfectly human in structure, while those hastily grown for war are often crude facsimiles, their bodies made from roots and branches rather than seamless wooden flesh. Dryads are either designed by a normal tree and then taken away to be planted somewhere or are grown trees specifically designed to produce only Dryad offspring. In either case, the seed sets routs and grows into a small tree which slowly takes on the appearance of a sleeping figure buried in wood. Once the Dryad is ready to be born, the tree forces all of it’s life force, energy and magic into the dryad, awakening it. The dryad then tares it way out of the shriveled cocoon of roots, trunk and branches. A newborn has about the intelligence capability of a human adult, but lack wisdom, which they gain from interacting with their kin and progenitors through their psychic link with them.
They are now the face of the empire and the driving force behind its expansion. They are the most warlike of their kin, and have a strong warrior culture where martial prowess is highly praised. The Dryads can only communicate telepathically if they are within range of one of their larger kin, but they have been given mouths with which to speak and thus are the only ones of their Genus capable of communicating with other races. 50% of the time this is used to hurl insults at foes, but some have become diplomats and merchants with, sometimes literal thanks to deliberate pigmentation choices, silver tongues.
Culturally they are primarily focused around war in all its forms and needs. What separates them from simply being a warrior cast is that they deal with not just fighting, but also preparing the materials of war such as armor, perform research into military technologies and are the face of diplomatic meetings to form military alliances. Beyond war they have a lot of interest in art, particularly the art of cooking. A Dryad’s normal diet consists of bland if nutritious fruits produced by The Trees of their home groves, The Trees maintain a meticulous control on the amount of children they produce, and as such food shortages are a rarity. This makes any and all other kinds of food a luxury and Chef’s are highly regarded among Dryad society for their ability to make eating interesting. This also makes those that go out to get food, be it viea taxation, trade or marauding, more highly valued by the Dryad’s than would be expected of warriors.
Dryads are technically full time soldiers, but outside of crisis periods only have to be on active duty for half of the year. Dryads are divided into 2 seasons, spring and autumn and get their season, plus half of winter and summer, off duty. When not on duty they engage in hobbies or professions like cooking, smithing, fletching, painting etc. or travel to receive instruction from famous warriors, mages, chefs or artists. The only real exceptions to this rota are the merchants and explorers who travel with the Living ships to far off lands, they are often away for years at a time on what technically counts as their duty. This distinction is not entirely rigid or binding, some Dryads simply swap season and remain in the military/civilian population full time, but adherence to the system is common, gives rhythm to the Dryad’s lives and is required if a Dryad wants to hold a leadership position.
Dryads live in and around Groves of their Tree parents. On the home islands this means they are rather disparate, living in small wandering communities that for the most part act as a garrison for the homeland. The only exceptions to this are the myriad of docks, into which the wealth of empire, conquest and trade flow. In the provinces they live in groves of young Trees planted around a planted branch of Yaval. These groves are generally located near major towns over which the Dryad’s act a feudal lords.
The Living Ships Sentient Trees grown into the shape of ocean going vessels, propelled by leaf sails and animated oar like arms. So long as it can get sunlight the ship can indefinitely sustain itself and a small crew, and it can be repaired with magic and biomatter. The ship is it’s own captain, navigator and helmsman, the crew are generally along to repel boarding attacks, though the ship is not entirely helpless in this regard, to move cargo about and to act as envoys to land folk. There are three primary roles in life a ship may take. Some are part of a standing navy, bred for war and conflict they guard the isles and coasts. There are the transports who ferry goods and soldiers around and, as most of the internal trade and transport is done viea ship, they are always busy. The third are explorers, who go off far from the psychic contact with the rest of the Dreaming forest, carrying a small hardened crew they sail the oceans of the world to trade, talk and sometimes engage in piracy.
Living ships are made to a specific design by the Trees and are planted by the shoreline where they slowly grow into a fully formed ship while rooted to the earth. Unlike Dryads, the Ships are conscious during their growing period and learn everything the need to know as they mature, often getting to know or choosing the crew that is going to join them once they leave the shoreline. Once fully formed they carefully detach the roots that held them to the earth, which they will subsequently use as anchors, and slip into the water. Like the Dryads, the ships are capable of eating, though unlike their small kin they gain most of their energy from photosynthesising, and thus only really need it for elements that cannot be created from the absorption and splitting of Co2 and of water.
Like the Ents, some Ships are not content with the standard form of a boat. Some instead deliberately grow to resemble sea monsters instead, such as great whales, serpents or squids of bark, leaf and vine that are often terrifying to behold.
The Others
Human citizens The subjugated citizens of the former feudal Kingdom of Shenra where once traders, raiders and explorers who sailed the seas on ships made from the wood of the Tree’s continental relatives. Now they live under the thumb of the Empire but for the average peasant and the poor, very little has changed, their lords simply now live in the dangerous forest rather than in splendorous manors. For the formerly well off, the Empire’s conquest has had a much bigger impact. The biggest change is that the private creation and ownership of ships is banned, which, thanks to the poor and dangerous state of the north south roads, restricts the freedom of movement of the native population and massively reduced internal and external trade, the old lifeblood of the kingdom. The only kinds of ship available are fishing vessels which don’t have the capacity to survive the open eas or long voyages. Despite this a thriving black market of trade exists using these small ships, most especially in and around the Sea of Lights and in the north where the small ships have a chance of reaching foreign shores with the wears of the populace.
Though it has been several generations since the Empire’s total conquest of the region tensions still run high, with both the Dreaming Forest and the humans looking down on another as inferior to themselves. The Dreaming forest consider the humans a useful tool for doing things like farming, mining or textile work, something few Dryad’s have any interest in, and consider themselves incredibly merciful for not committing genocide on the human population. The humans are resentful of not being ruled by their own kind, angry at the damage to takeover of their lucrative export economy and frustrated with the fact that the Empire does basically nothing to help the people they rule. In Fact they barely rule at all.
Friends of the Forest: Every change in rulership has its Talleyrands, people who see the end coming and jump ship to the new regime before the old one sinks or just those that think it best to suck up to the new boss, same as they did with the old boss. The self proclaimed Friends of the Forest are a loose group of old and new powers who work to support the empire in order to get to the top of the bottom of the pile. Bureaucrats and taxmen who “streamline” things for their masters by acting as middle men, ruling the local populace in terms of law enforcement, handing out justice, planning public works and other mundanities that the Dreaming Forest does not have time for. Sometimes specifically chosen, sometimes self imposed and rarely elected, for the most part they are a corrupt and self serving lot, but they have their uses.
Gweldgale islanders: The population of the colony of Gweldgale consists of roughly equal numbers of humans and Koirari. The Koirari are natives to the island who have lived there since before written history. Their legend tell that they were once true creatures of the sea, rather than the air breathing amphibians they are now, but they were driven out of the oceans by demons sent by their primordial god, who was punishing them for some great sin. Human and Koirari alike where once traders and sailors like the peoples of Shenra, but are now working under the same servitude as the provincial humans. They are now primarily farmers of the varios exotic crops that can grow on their islands and their ability to leave is strictly controlled, the ports are closed to all non empire ships and all local ships have been decommissioned. That is not to say they can’t leave, passage can be purchased and the pay offered to farmers in return for their work on the profitable crops can pay for it if saved. There Is even some immigration of people looking for work. The Koirari however have nowhere to go and so while the human population slowly changes as people come and go, they all remain in place, resenting their new overlords.
Exports
The Empire produces furs, leather, lumber, wool/cloth, Hiver venom and honey, monster parts(venom, blood, furs, bones etc.), whisky, truffles, tin, iron, wine, tomatoes, olives, olive oil and various enchanted items.
Bestiary
Hivers: Large furry bees that can grow to about the size of a small dog. These are the primary pollinators of the Ever Green Isles, but they can also be found in most Dreaming Forests on the continent. Equipped with dagger sized stingers and a territorial attitude towards non plant life they are often used as the equivalent of guard dogs for groves of Trees. Some Dryads also keep them as pets. Forest Hydras: Serpentine cousins of dragons the forest hydras live in small number in the larger forests throughout the Empire. Massive, aggressive and incredibly venomous most do their best to stay well clear of these hot blooded monsters. However almost every part of the beasts sells for a high price, so the Dryads make something of a sport of hunting them, through the Trees make efforts to stop them wiping out the species through overhunting.
Windigo: Elusive creatures that have a foul reputation for being omens of bad luck, but are otherwise harmless herbivores. This is as a result of their curious magical defensive ability, which curses aggressors with miss fortune. The superstition around them is often self fulfilling, as those who believe it will often attempt to drive the beast away, the Windigo naturally retaliates with its curse in self defence as it flees and the foolish aggressors are then stricken with calamity and catastrophe as a result. Owlbear: large flightless carnivorous known for their excellent hearing, stealth and night vision. Like regular bears they tend to leave humans alone, preferring to fish in the many rivers crossing the provinces. Only a desperate Owlbear will attempt to attack humans or their livestock, but when they do the results can be devastating as the almost silent beasts rend unsuspecting victims to pieces in seconds with their razor sharp claws.
Owcilot: Relatives of the Owlbear, these cat sized creatures have been known to be domesticated as hunting companions. Their eyes and ears can help hunters find pray and also warn them of the presence of dangerous beasts like hydras or owlbears.
Byon: Flying rabbits. The answer to why the local wildcats have wings. Swift flyers and voracious eaters, they are a common food source for many of the carnivores of the forest that are capable of catching them. Floff: Horse sized docile creatures that are raised by farmers for their wool like coats. Often used instead of sheep as their diet of leaves is suited to the heavily wooded provinces.
Fryper: Omnivorous cousins of the domesticated Floffs, these fathered beasts are the fastest creatures on the forest. They have evolved mainly to hunt Byons and other burrowing rodents, either by running them down or rooting about in their burrows using their long necks. The feathers on their heads are actually their ears that grant the Fryper’s excellent hearing capabilities.
Blosterguils: huge leech like creatures, that live in the glacial swamps. They ambush unsuspecting creatures and suck out all of their blood, leaving only withered husks. When caught out in the open they will fulld their tails up under their spine covered heads in a defensive posture. The massive spikes are capable of shooting out like jelly fish spines, embedding themselves in anything that tries to fip the beast over and pumping them full of venom.
Swamp cocatrice: missnamed horse sized drakes, that are known for their paralysing breath. Featuring glands like those found on spitting Cobras, their venom turns to vapor on air contact, spraying the target with a cloud of neurotoxins. They use this to spray fleeing birds as they take off, causing them to fall from the sky, or as a defence against larger predators.
Snapping Islands: Slow movingsnapping turtles that live in the freezing swamps who generally sport a large amount of vegetation growing of their backs which they use as camouflage. They are grazers and opportunistic ambush predators who use their massive thick shells to protect them from threats large and small alike.
Giant otters: These crocodile sized otters live in the southern marshes. Harmless to humans unless provoked their waterproof furs are highly valued.
North sea creatures: VileShrimp: Contrary to what their name suggests these seal sized crustaceans are actual delicious, if prepared properly. Found in the sea of lights they are scavengers and opportunist hunters that have a deadly necrotising bite.
Leech fish: Small vampyric fish that live in the bay of lights. They feed by latching onto large creatures like whales and sucking as much blood as they can before the creature shakes/scrapes them off or attacking smaller sea creatures in packs. A common catch for local fishermen, they are considered a delicacy, particularly the ones that have eaten recently.
South sea creatures: Omystear: These cow sized be-tentacled quadrupeds are heavily armored creatures who feed mostly on fish, smaller crustaceans and carlson of larger creatures. When attacked it will retract into its shell and scuttle away blindly. Shells of this beas have been used in armor crafting by Gweldgalens since before recorded history, the segmented armor being used to craft crude yet tough shields and armor. SeaDrake: About the size of a large dog Sea Dreakes are ancestors of the true dragons who have adapted to an oceanic way of life. Traveling in packs the Drakes hunt much the same way dolphins do, working together to herd fish into tight knots that they can then take turns at lunging though to get a mouthful of fish. The drakes can no longer fly, but can glide some distance if they leap out of the water, something they do to catch birds, ambush potential meals or escape predators. They have to return to land to lay eggs, and so they can be found during summer roosting in the southern Gweldgalen highlands. This leaves them vulnerable to poaching and some of the wealthyer natives keep them as pets or hunting dogs.
Furyogoths: Long ago somebody made these foul creatures and gave them a taste for sentient flesh. The natives of Gweldgale believed they were made as a punishment for misdeed, while the Trees think they might be someone else's long discarded living weapons long past. Now they lurk in the waters south seas, praying on the weak. Their claws can crush skulls, their barbed tentacle mouths strip flesh from bone with ease and their armored shells rival platemail in toughness. While they are believed to originate in the region, they and their juvenile form are an invasive species that can be found in seas, rivers and swamps all across the world.
horror’s hand:The juvenile forms of Furyogoths, these horrid creatures that latch onto the back of the heads unsuspecting creatures, sinking their jaws into their flesh and stabbing a spike into their spinal cord at the neck. Using this they can puppet the creature as a slave, using it to attempt to capture additional pray before its host dies of wounds, starvation or dehydration. Then it eats it. These vile creatures have been spread all over by ships, clinging to their undersides.
Military
Dreaming Groves and the Psychic Dreamscape
The most basic and fundamental unit of the Empire's military is a grove of Trees. Be they entire islands or a few young Trees on the frontiers, it is from these places that the the armies of the empire march out and they are the most important of the lands they hold. Because of Yaval’s many proxy offshoots and the Tree’s psychic abilities, the empire has communications capabilities that are centuries ahead of their time. Because of this connection, Yaval and the island courts of the Evergreen Isles can and will make important military and bureaucratic decisions that can be instantaneously implemented day's worth of travel away. This communications advantage extends down to individual soldiers, and so while operating around Groves, the trees have a masterful advantage when it comes to coordination, information gathering and clarity of orders.
When away from their progenitors however, much of this advantage fades away. While Ents and Living ships can act as pylons for the Psychic Dreamscape, allowing communication between the army as a whole, this is a lot less of an advantage than that provided by the Trees themselves. Lacking the ancient wells of wisdom that come with a connection with the homeland, Yaval’s ability to force orders through the mental haze through sheer force of will and the Trees ability to process all of the information going in and out of the psychic collective consciousness leaves the Dreamscape a hazy, unreliable and vague impression of the state of the army.
As a result, Dryad commanders of armies on the field rely on traditional methods of control, using the state of the dreamscape as a touchstone to see how moral is doing instead of a control mechanism. A commander can tell which areas of a battle that the dryads believe they are winning, and in which areas they are scared, panicked or disheartened in. This might not give a clear picture but it gives them some indication of where to send reinforcements or to take command of personally. Order are often given via shouting, flags, word of mouth or instruments such as horns or drums. Ents make excellent platforms from which to give orders and so commanders can often be seen sitting atop the shoulder of an Ent for both order giving purposes and the sightline advantage it gives. If all the ents and ships in an army are routed or destroyed then the dreamscape collapses completely and the Dryads are left connected only to those nearby them. This is something most are wholly unused too and all too often the army will rout on mass in order to get back into contact with one another. Unlike most armies who break, a routing Treekin army is a panicked flight to somewhere rather than just an attempt to get away from the enemy, and the army will naturally regroup at the closest Dreaming grove.
As a result of the advantages of fighting near The Trees, the prefered tactic of the Dreaming Forest when attacking is to set up groves as they advance to act as relays back to a Yaval cutting. While this can be done faster than might be expected, the dryads and ents can be lead in week long ceremonies to accelerate the growth of Tree seeds by fueling their own energy into them, it leaves them vulnerable and makes progress slow. The creeping advance also puts Trees in potentially dangerous territory, and the death of one of them, no matter how young, is considered a great tragedy. Weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of this approach and carefully balancing when to extend the forest VS sending an army out away from it to rapidly respond to a crisis or potential advantage is a careful balancing act, one the empire is still learning the art of.
Dryads
He mainstay of the Empire's armies are the Dryads. These unnaturally tough Treekin (a dryad who’s head and/or arms are cut off can still run away and, if subsequently healed, could come back to fight that very same battle) are a force to be reckoned with, worth many times their own number. The empire itself is small however, and the land actually lived in by the Dreaming forest smaller still, so Dryads are almost always outnumbered by conventional armies.
For weapons, Dryads use blunt weapons like maces and hammers as their mainstay, forgoing shields in order to use both hands for attacking, relying on their tough bodies for defence. Swords are generally reserved for officers and notable warriors due to the skill required to make one. Axes are taboo for obvious reasons and spears generally do not suit the Dryad’s aggressive brawler fighting style. Dryad archers are literally born with their bows, the wood used to make it is taken from the refuse of the plant they grow out off to create enchanted short bows. Dryads soldiers can be divided up into a number of subtypes:
Dryad Foot soldiers: The average Dryad wears an magically grown lightweight steel armor that's more carbon than iron, known as ironbark. It has about the same defensive value as chainmail while being lighter and having the advantage that it can be repaired by nature magic at the same time as the wearer. They make up the bulk of the standing army of the Empire, but are still far more dangerous than most warriors of flesh and blood. As a result of the lightweight nature of the armor and its worn by Dryads acting in capacities where such a level of armor would be considered unusual, from scouts, archers and mages to all important chefs and their assistants, if a Dryad is anywhere close to a warzone and does not fall into one of the following categories they will be wearing IronBark armor. Dryad Paladins: The empire doesn’t produce full plate armor, and as a result it's quite the sought after prize by the Dryads. Anyone seen wearing this has either strong enough to claimed it as a spoil of war, old enough to have looted it from the kingdoms armories or traveled far and wide to acquire it via shrew trading. As a result, these warriors are rare and also almost always exceptionally dangerous before their heavy armor is taken into consideration.
Wind-Dancers: Warriors of what could be described as a cult, these Dryads forgo the armor of their kin and go into battle in wearing light dress and armed truly massive weapons. They undergo a rigorous training program to learn how to use mana to increase their agility and flexibility, as a result they move through the battlefield as a swift and beautiful death, scything down their foes and artfully dodging attempts to stop them. Members of the cult are rare however.
Dryad Sprout Berzerkers: these are the bastard children of the Dreaming Forest. Rapidly grown via magic and then forced to uproot as soon as they can move, their mass appearance on the battlefield can only mean that the local Tree Grove has been spooked and has decided to rapidly grow reinforcements or an entire army to defend themselves. Feral, frenzied with the only the thought of war pushed haphazardly into their minds and armed and armored with weapons made from the detritus of their emerging they are expendable shock troops, fearless through ignorance of their own mortality. Any that survive will eventually be integrated into society, but the violence of their birth and their retched appearances often leave them as social pariahs.
Ents
Ent Warrior: standing at one to three times the average human the smallest of the ents could be mistaken for overgrown Dryads if they weren't quite so ugly. The youngest of the Ents fight somewhat similarly to their Dryad cousins, only with even more brute strength and a distinct lack of fitness or agility. Most are armed with crude weapons that they feel little attachment to, as they keep outgrowing them. they generally don’t wear armor for that same reason.
Bestial Ents: bigger, meaner, these ents have gotten to the point that weapons are just too expensive to make for them and as a result have turned to more bestail forms to fight. Sporting claws, fangs and more, the elder ent towers above the battlefield and is sometimes so heavy they resort to walking on 4 libs rather than two.
Monsters: Sometimes ents decide that the humanoid form isn’t dangerous enough and they go for something more exotic instead. Large animals like wolfs skirt the line between beast and monster, but ents in the shape of wyrms, dragons, shoggoths and other mythic beasts have been known to exist as have ones in the shapes of giant insects, spiders or crustaceans.
Armored Titans: Colossal siege towers that have reached the pinnacle of what an Ent can grow to while still remaining mobile. At this point weapons and armor become viable choices once again, though they are now works of architecture rather than craftsmanship, their equipment being predominantly stone in material. Such defences are necessary, because the Titan’s appearance almost always result in a “shoot the big ones” response from their enemies: if one shows up on the battlefield it will inevitably be the target for every mage and artillery pieces. This and fear are in part the point, the Ent is now so slow in its thoughts that even tightly packed formations have a chance to move out of the way while it winds up a strike. As a result they are best used to scare away enemies, walk straight through their lines to trample them or destroy fortifications rather than be used to stand and fight.
Magic
While all Dryads are innately magical thanks to the Primordial blood giving them life, actual spellcraft comes slowly to the members of the Dreaming forest as they are limited by having a much harder time raising their mana rate than other races. The process of becoming versed in spellcraft is a long and slow process that requires a lot of dedication. For a mage to even consider a potential acolyte worthy of teaching the seeker of magic knowledge must prove their commitment by raising their mana throughput to a realm that it is actually able to perform spellcraft. As a result, there are four stages of magical ability among the Dreaming Forest. The only exception to this are the Trees themselves as all of them learn, at the very least, enough magic to create the various subspecies using their own seeds.
Spell Swords: At the bottom of the totem poll are the spellswords. Any Treekin who wishes to increase their mana throughput starts of by acquiring some simple enchanted weapon or item that can be used to briefly augment their combat ability. By keeping these items that have relatively low mana requirements or capacities on hand and constantly refilling them, the Spellsword gradually ups their mana throughput over a course of several years.
Enchanters: once a hopeful has upped their mana rate sufficiently, they seek out either a more powerful artifact or, if they can get some training or literature on the subject, create their own. These more powerful artifacts generally allow the mage to perform one or more spells without having to learn all the specifics. They then use this as a primary weapon in order to train further. These generally make up the majority of spellcasters in an empire army, generally providing a specific, inflexible, function like healers, artillery support or firefighters.
Apprentices and Mages: A fully fledged mage is incredibly powerful, not just because of their now heightened mana throughput, but also because the mage is experienced, dedicated to their craft has seen many battles and is as a result, wise. Only the strongest and most committed endure the decades of work it takes to become an apprentice, meaning that only the cream of the crop manage to become fully fledged mages. Because the Treekin don’t die of old age and only get wiser as they get older they can potentially accrue much higher levels of power and knowledge than than mortal mages. The favored magic schools of the Dreaming Forest are nature, water, and wind. Nature magic is used to rapidly grow vegetation, both their own and mundane, command the beast of the forests like Hivers and wolves to attack and also to heal wounds. Water magic is used to directly counteract fire magic and can also be used offensively near bodies of water or on the high seas. Wind magic is favored by the Living Ships, who use it to maneuver themselves and blow their enemies of course. Lone individuals or cliques are known to deviate from these 3 schools however, something that generally only happens when a mage acquires foreign literature that they want to study.
Navy
The Empire’s navy is one of its great strengths, the Living Ships that serve within it are a terrifying force on the oceans of the world. They can feel the currents and waves around them, effortless maneuvering through treacherous waters that would wreck normal ships. With their arm like branches and tentacle like vines they can physically assault enemy vesale all on their own ramming the constructed ships with its hardened bark body before tearing the crew to shreds or dismantling the ship board by board. Their Dryad crews who fight alongside them can take full advantage of the cramped confines of ships to avoid getting ganged up on by their more numerous foes. The ships can also easily sustain themselves and their crews on sunlight and water, the ship producing fruits for the crew to eat as they travel. The ship can also repair itself, growing to seal holes and breaches during a battle using magic or beaching itself to repair more substantial damage over time.
Perhaps more frightening than the standard ships are the monsters and mages. Monsters forgo the ability to carry crew or cargo to become dedicated weapons of terror, mighty leviathans out of myths and legend that can bite small ships in half. Almost as rare as these are the mage ships, having gone through the 3 stage training process like their land based kin and are either formidable magical artillery platforms or capable of rapidly growing armies of Sprout Berzerkers in distant lands.
Humans
Conscripts: poor peasants and workers rounded up and ordered to march with the Empire to defend the realm. Generally armed and armored with mail, spears and shields left over from the former kingdom they form local militias and auxiliary forces for the empire. Generally used to bulk out the armies to prevent the Dreaming Forest forces from being outnumbered and overwhelmed they are really only expected to hold the line with a spear wall while the treekin warriors do the actual fighting and killing. How good they are at this job really depends on who and where they are fighting. When defending their homes from northern barbarians or eastern slavers they can generally be relied upon. If they are far from home and against the forces of their rightful Queen they give up the field easily or worse, change sides in the middle of the fight.
Deer Riders: Filling the light cavalry roll for the Empire are semi professional troops mounted on deer back. Before the kingdom was conquered they used an equal number of the continents ubiquitous horses and the local tradition of deer riding, but transitioned to primarily deer for their better maneuverability in the groves of the Dreaming Forest. Come the conquest the deer has remained the primary mount of the warrior because of how well it works with the Empire's favored terrain. Deer work surprisingly well against other cavalry, having been taught to butt heads with their horses enemies. Unlike the Conscripts, the riders are semi professional in nature and are often employed as messengers in peacetime. Friends of the Forest enforces: the enforces are effectively the provincial police force, but they can be called to war if the Empire needs them to. More often than not they act as officers for the conscripts, but they can be called up on mass to form their own units if so necessary, which is generally done when fighting the forces of the remnant of Shenra. They are loyal to the Empire, or rather loyal to the people profiting from the empire, and thus have much better moral than their conscript brothers. They tend to style themselves after the Dryads with hammer and mace usage, though they generally keep the traditional round shield of their people for safety.
Heroes
Nyranda The Serpent Nyranda represents a prototype for a possible fifth subspecies creation of the Dreaming forest, one that could soar through the heavens like awyvern. While still technically a monstrous Ent, Nyranda has grown herself and trained in magecraft in such a way as to break free from the bonds of gravity. Upon six wings of bark and leaf she soars through the heavens, held impossibly aloft by a combination of a mastery of the winds and telekinesis. The same magics that hold her aloft make The Serpent devastating in combat, as razor winds and telekinetic blasts cause chaos and disarray in tightly packed enemy formations. At only 40 years of age, she is young for her size, having focused a great deal of time into her growth and magecraft. Her modifications now finally made she has only recently ebgun venturing out into the world once more to prove the effectiveness of her designees to her progenitors, hoping to convince them to make a new subspecies in her image.
Xuna the Brave and Yarvost the Bold A dynamic duo of two unusually short Treekin that are famous, or infamous, for their part in the Empire’s various wars and subsequent romp across the continent as independent adventurers. The duo are a rare breed among the Treekin as they have entirely acclimatised to operating outside the psychic Dreamscape, which makes them excellent for any delicate operations that the Empire might need to be dealt with by a small team.
The pair were planted during the defence of the Evergreen Isles 23 years after its inception, having been created by the same Tree’s seeds. They are notable as some of the few Treekin who have survived all the conflicts since then who have not followed the standard path of aging of their kind, taking up a leadership position in Xuna’s case or retired to static living in Yarvost’s. Yavost is in fact incredibly notable for having not grown much at all since he first unrooted himself as a result of being almost permanently active. Both are infused with a unending restlessness, with a lust for glory, adventure and violence beyond even that of their instinctively aggressive kin. After the humans were expelled from the islands, they were part of the first Dryad inclusion onto the continent, and once the Empire’s conquest reached the borders of the Empire of Matatharan the pair simply kept going, breaking off from the victorious conquering armies to make their own way as wanderers and adventurers.
Since their departure they have wandered much of the continet’s most fascinating and dangerous places, including an expedition into the haunted vale where they found their signature 4 eyed masks. It is through these travels that Yarvost has acquired a collection of enchanted broadswords taken from fallen foes taken down by his ever increasing skill in swordsmanship. Xuna meanwhile has gained contacts with various officials and underworld dealers across the continent and has become an expert markswoman as the pair have partaken in mercenary work for locals of the lands they visit and espionage for the Empire against those same lands.
Amber balde: old, simple, glowing, big, just makes it a better sword
Butchers blade: single straight edge, meat cleaver/razor, cooks shit when it impacts without fire
Lost Lover: long sword, returns to users hand, used as a throwing weapon (like a javelin
Jack Knife: blade that extends when swung
FrostFang: burns with cold flame,
the invisible hand: projects a beam of telekinetic force that can pull things towards its tip.
Thorn: has spikes running along its blade, injects neurotoxins.
seismic claymore: impact delivered increased
Sai Interceptor: small blade instinctively homes in on approaching weapons to parry them
Corral Wreath: orange Sword that causes wounds that self seal incredibly slowly and seem to draw blood to themselves
Reality render: fucking portals. Stick it in the air, push it how deep you want to go. 2 cm = 1 m. 1 m blade. also good for stabs. Good for escapes and bypassing terrain, not very good for traveling due to mana drain
Warping Blade: sword that can take the size and shape of any other blade
The Soaring Striker: lets user jump good
Letiana The Swift Founder and head of the Wind-Dancers, Letiana is a master duelist who wields a mighty Warhammer in one hand and a shortsword in the other. Forgoing the standard armor of the Dryads for a short dress, Letiana made her own form of combat during the invasion of the continent that has since spread among the Dryad’s as others either apprentice under her or attempt to emulate her. Instead of relying on their inherent toughness in battle, Letiana and her Wind-Dancers work tirelessly to push their magic powered bodies beyond mortal limits, performing feats of athleticism impossible to those limited by physical muscles while also wielding large powerful weapons to deliver swift devastating blows. As the creator of this style, Letiana is its unequivocal master who sweeps through a battlefield in a whirlwind of grace and devastation.
History
In ages past a Primordial decide that they wanted to spend several hundred years as a tree. Why this is the case has been lost to time, but as a result of its time on the Ever Green Isles it’s pollen spread to many of the trees and it sired many children. As time passed it’s essences spread throughout the forests until, thanks to the magic they inherited, the primordial’s decedents made up most of the forests on the 13 islands and unbeknownst to the island trees, some even spread to the mainland. As they conquered the lands a strange thing occurred, individual Trees began to link together, stimulating the magic within each other till eventually a dull intelligence gradually emerged within them all, intelligence that was partially intertwined from the nature of its formation. For the most part these Trees did little but watch the seasons go by and philosophise among themselves for hundreds of years. Those of other races that did come to the islands found the thickly wooded forests filled with hostile wildlife poor land to settle and most left as soon as they were able.
Then came the creatures riding their vessels made from corpses of their own kind. For the first time since the great fire the trees faced a threat to their collective continued existence, and it’s name was humanity. Due to the shear number of offspring produced by the primordial ancestor of The Trees, they have some of the least diluted ‘blood’ in the world and unfortunately the invaders had already discovered they could make enchantments from the wood of the trees and had come specifically to the islands for more of that magic wood. As their kin were cut down by the hundreds the Trees scrambled to find a solution to the problem. Initially lacking a leadership structure to organise their response, and the wild creatures proving insufficient to fight the humans, the trees eventually bowed to the ancient wisdom of Yaval. Under their guidance, the trees began to use magic to create and grow offspring to fight the invading lumberjacks. They resolved to create offspring more capable of fighting back than themselves, using their magic to mutate their seeds and increase the rate of their growth.
First they tried creating trees and saplings armed with grabbing arms and lashing vines that were rapidly grown at the edge of the woodsmen's territory, but the invaders brought in mages to hurl fireballs at them from a safe distance. The trees tried giving their creations legs, but the invaders bought in warriors who danced around their lumbering steps and used torches to light them aflame. At last, the trees took influence from their tormentors and the Dryads were born. As small as the humans and just as quick the dryads turned the skirmishing between the trees and the invaders into a full on war, as the humans finally caught onto the fact that it was all the Trees that were a danger, not just a few strange mutant ones. Thus began a war of extermination, the humans burning the forests down and magically salted the earth whenever they scored victory. Four islands were lost to the invaders, never to be reclaimed as their soil was left barren, till the trees made the innovation that won them the day.
The final creation of the war where ships of their own, trees that could survive drinking saltwater (a trick Yaval had learned long ago but was only now sharing), catch the breeze with their leaves and carry the Dryads away from the islands to disrupt the supply lines of the invaders. After a few naval engagements it became clear that the living were stronger than the dead, as the Tree ships tore the longships of the invaders to sunder, bringing peace to their fallen brethren. Cut off from supplies and reinforcements the humans were eventually defeated. From captives, the Dryads learned language and eventually, 50 years after the first Tree on the island was felled, an uneasy peace was forged between the Trees and the humans. It lasted for only 5 years.
During this time the trees fretted about what to do with their children, bred for war, now that here was peace. While their parents endlessly, and slowly, debated about what to do the Drayds formed a society that was, worryingly in the Tree’s opinions, based rather somewhat on the invader’s own. They set out into the world on their living ships and returned with tales and bounties of the vast world and it was through this travel that the Dryads gained their first desire. Before the explorers returned the Dryads had lived off of rather tasteless fruits provided by the Trees, but after their first expeditions the Dryads discovered the joy (and occasional dangers) of cooking. It was the lack of available farmland and tradable resources on the Tree covered islands that eventually sparked the second war, as a crew of Dryads docked their ship next to a human village and began to extort them for food. The human military's responded and attempted to kick out the dryads. In response the Trees and Dryads sent reinforcements to defend their kin and so the second war was on.
Over the next 97 years, sporadic wars were fought and the Human kingdom slowly lost more and more land to the newly named Emerald Empire. While the human Kingdom of Shenra did manage some victories against the invaders, they never again managed to set foot on the Empire’s homeland. After a series of consecutive defeats during the year 242 AP it became clear the kingdom could no longer hope to oppose the empire. The Royal family and their court were forced to flee the Empire’s forces as they occupied most of the kingdom's territory. Over the past 50 years the empire has consolidated their holdings on the continent and have now turned their attention further afield.
While little progress has been made on land thanks to the Serene block, the empire has had more success at sea, capturing a few islands in the southern seas, setting up profitable trade routes and forging alliances or partnerships with some of the nations in the region.
Relations
The Kingdom of Shenra: at war Empire of Matatharan: tensions on the border are high, the land locked empire has had it’s sights on the ports of the southern Emerald lands for some time and it has not gone without notice that they have recently begun moving troops to the border between the two nation. The Dreaming Forest has responded in kind and tensions are brewing as the two empires prepare for the inevitable clash between expansionist powers.
Tarkima: The empire has some friendly relations with the Brakor tribe, trading goods and services with them in return for mercenary work and some influence on the region. Olira and Freshann: the empire has recently entered into a formal alliance with these two wester powers, the aim of which is to provide safety for the group’s trading vessels in their home watters and dominance of the group’s collective navle power over the continents oceans as a whole.
Princedom of Netheryne:
Characters
Lord Enzar and Lestarn The Magnificent The General and his Ent bodyguard have been a mainstay of the southern empire’s forces for years now. Sprouting near the end of the conquest of the Kingdom of Shenra, Enzar began his rise to prominence at the battle of Lake Sem, where he single handedly slew the hero Sir Glenway and his bodyguards, causing a rout in the right flank of the Kingdom’s army that lead to victory in the battle. He has had a steady rise in influence since that day and is at present time one of the most prominent leaders of the western border with the Emerald-Matatharan border.
Selzona The Cold A prominent General of the north, Selzona is the Empire’s expert on the Tarkiman tribes. Warden of the northern border, Selzona parries raids from their northern neighbours with the aid of local Living Ships and her armies of Dryads and human auxiliaries. As well as fighting them, Selzona also attempts to navigate tribal politics when she is the civilian leader, attempting to both curb their aggression and claim more land by forging alliances and creating infighting where at all possible. Selzona is a rarity among the mages of the empire for her practicing of Ice magic, an art she learned in her younger days during an expedition into the Frozen cliffs far to the south of her current posting, where she learned using the teachings of a Dyvolf mage mercenary and arcane tomes seized from a Witch's hut.
Tenzin the Discerning The premier Diplomat of the Empire, Tenzin is the face and mouthpiece of the Tree’s overall goals and objectives. Accompanied by a glamorous entourage he has traveled to the various courts and palaces of the continent’s nations in order to secure recognition for the new Empire among their new peers. Accompanying them at all times is a small pot holding a cutting of Yaval, through which he and his court can stay in contact with the homelands to acquire advice and guidance, though with the distances they sometimes traveled, the connection often became tenuous and Zenzin had to rely entirely on his own judgments. His continued holding of the position proves the soundness of those personally made decision.
Yaval Obstensily Emperor of the Emerald Empire, Yaval is as much a place as they are a person, and as such you should refer to locations for details about them.
Ruzan the Keen: A subordinate of Enzars
Parabella the Intuitive: an enchanter from Fidgit bay
Sunrost the Eagle and Masilta the Red: leaders of the grove South Fenreforst
The Kingdom of Shenra
Government
The kingdom is, or was, ruled via a feudal system, with the Queen/King as it’s head and a series of lords who served as local governors over various estates, bound to their king by various treaties, obligations and agreements. Most of this is gone now, as the Empire has conquered most of the Kingdoms lands, what remains of its governance is the court of Queen Rosabella the Third. She and the few surviving noble families rule over the various mountain towns and monasteries found in the frozen cliff region. For the most part, each town is independently governed by a mayor or head priest and they are obliged to supply soldiers and food to the court. In return the court organises and runs the small but skilled army protecting the region, keeping the emerald empire out as well as dealing with the various local monsters and hostile native races.
Geography
The Kingdom controls a series of villages and monasteries on the south side of the Frozen Cliffs. Spread around in various hidden valleys and isolated peaks situated on the backs of the 3 massive mountains of the region. The capital is a fortress monastery, called the Holy Summit, that hosts the court and it’s forces. Sat atop a particular inhospitable peak, it looms high above the various villages and lesser religious installations that feed it.
The land itself is unnaturally cold for the region, even when the altitude of the area is taken into account. Glaciers slumber against the sides of the mountains, howling snowstorms make traveling difficult and the sky is perpetually shrouded in cloud. Life is only possile thanks to a nuber of cravases and vallys that shelter those within from the worst of the weather, and in which farming is possible. Connecting the villages and monasteries are are various footpaths and staircases carved into the rock, all hopelessly impractical for military movement without extensive local knowledge.
The kingdom also controls various villages in the foothills near the southern border. The Empire has found the passageways to them, through or around the mountains, far to treacherous, as a result of both Shenran harassment tactics and weather, for them to consider them worth exploiting or settling nearby. These communities are however less attached to the Kingdom than their mountain brethren are and would prefer to be left alone than fight in the Royal’s war over land they will never see. Still, they pay their tithes and only occasionally have to be reminded of who is in power in the region.
Culture
Humans
The peoples of the remains of the kingdom are primarily farmers, goat herders and priests, they have little time for anything that does not involve survival or god and the two are intertwined heavily in the region. Those that do not harvest food or pray join the ranks of the kingdoms army as soldiers fighting for the restoration of the monarchy and human dominance in the region. The only ones not in these three professions are the Queen and her nobles, who are often away from the region, where they travel to foreign lands to beseech others for assistance in casting out the empire from the lands that are rightfully theirs.
Harpies
Allied with the kingdom but not nominally part of it are the harpies. Natives to the region, they have a thorny history with their allies due and the reduction of prey available caused by the humans arrival and the subsequent poaching of the humans livestock by harpies. The emergence of the Empire has forced the two groups together, as neither wish to live as servants to uppity firewood. The harpies live in high altitude tribal villages they call roosts, where they are ruled by a council of elders. Contrary to the common belief among the Shenrans that Harpies do not have menfolk, or that they don’t let them leave the roosts, the truth is that it is very hard to tell the two sexes apart due to the species’s sexual monomorphism.
Dyvofls: Twinheaded Wolf-mosnters that are un-aligned with either side of the region's internal conflict, the Dyvofls are what the Harpies used to be, a constant nuisance and danger to anyone who isn’t them. Living in nomadic pack based societies the Dyvolfs are a primitive if strong people who are used as mercenaries by both the Empire and the Kingdom, often by both sides simultaneously.
Bestiary
Snow Lions: Winged Lions twice the size of their savannah cousins, these beast live in and around the frozen cliffs. Seemingly immune to the cold, the regal beasts fly swiftly through the air on nearly silent wings while they hunt deer, goats and men alike.
Snow hyenas: large skavengers, the snow hyenas sport a thick quill of sharp spiky fur all across their head and back, which protects them from surprise attacks while they are muzzle deep in a carcase. In the lowlands crows are the beast that follow armies, in the mountains marching forces are often shadowed by these laughing creatures who act as if war is a hilarious joke to which only they know the punchline.
Poskellos: the local breed of dog that has been with the montin humans since they arrived. Sporting thick fluffy coats and a loyal demeanor they are used as sheepdogs, guard dogs and hunting dogs by many of the mountain villages. Some have been used in war, where they get to play a very dangerous game of fetch the stick.
Sabrerian:ambush hunters that have tapped into the heart of the mountain somehow, they have claws and teeth of ice honed to a razor's edge. The long teeth of the Sabrerian are easily replaced, allowing the hunter to be more reckless with them in a chase, the icicles often breaking off while lodged in a victim only for it replace the lost tooth moments later to come in for another bite.
Faylothoraptor: Some mountains have the danger of hungry packs of wolves, the frozen cliffs have feathered raptors. Roaming the snow covered mountain sides in large packs, the raptors are dangerously intelligent, known to heard their prey into unseen cliff falls or dead end crevices while hunting. Hexagoats: hexapod goats local to the region, they exist in both wild and domesticated states. The large herbivores are used for their meat, fur, pakmule and transport by the locals.
Lotosep: closer related to Floffs than deer these graceful hearvivours walk on thin chitinous stilts legs to keep their bodies clear of the snow. Unlike deer antlers, the horns are mainly defensive weapons rather than tools of competition for mates, but if two Lotoseps do get into a fight they will “fence” with their horns to do so.
Military
Royal Lion Guards the elite of the kingdom's forces are the personal bodyguard of the Queen. Armed with halberds that are more often used as axes than they are as spears, these warriors must prove their worthiness to join the ranks of the Guard by acquiring the traditional Snow Lion head headdress of the Guard. This can be done either by slaying one of the beast to make their own or claiming one belonging to an existing member, either through a dual or being judged worthy by the holder to have it handed down once a guard retires.
Human Infantry clad in thick clothes, plate and mail, the mainstay of the Kingdom's armies fight much the same way as their conquered relatives to the north. The warriors heavily favor two handed axes, both for their simplicity to make and their effectiveness vs their wooden foes, whereas the humble spear is almost entirely absent from their arsenal. Swords are used, but primarily as status symbols of officers and lords rather than as main weapons. Any shields used are predominantly light wooden ovoid shields used to protect from arrows as the blunt impacts of Dryad weapons are hard to block properly. Harpy auxiliaries The harpies of the frozen cliffs generally wear light leather armor and are traditionally armed with two handed swords or axes. Some have recently begun carrying light crossbows to harass foes with before or after a charge. The heavy metal bolts, assisted by gravity, are one of the few handheld ranged weapons effective VS the Dreaming Forest, capable of crippling limbs or heads with their heavy impacts. All these choices are made with their flight in mind, metal armor and bulky shields reduce their prized mobility, while two handed weapons are extra effective when gravity is used to add extra forces to the blow. They act as a kind of light cavalry for the most part, a roll that is difficult for traditional horsemen to fill in their mountainous homeland.
Snow Witch(Cryomancers) There are some who have tapped into the frozen heart of the mountains and have learned to do terrible damage with the already dangerous elements. Just as often as they are spearing invaders with shafts of Ice they are worsening the already terrible weather, shattering an army’s will to fight before they even reach the battlefield. Both humans and Harpies have members skilled in this art and while there are some other types of mages in the mountains, the wielders of ice and snow are the most common.
FireBrands(Pyromancers): While the local tradition is mastery of the cold, the nature of the kingdoms hated enemies mean that fire magic is the second most common type of spellcraft in the land. Firebrands are almost always loyal to the kingdom above all, as opposed to the witches who are more likely to be loyal primarily to their local community if they aren't recluses. Fireballs and gouts of flame are the most common of their tactics, but some have been known to empower the weapons of themselves and allies with burning coatings of flame instead.
Heroes
Queen Rosabella the Third: Rightful of the lands now held by the Emerald empire, the Queen seeks to reclaim the throne that is rightfully hers. Riding atop the back of a snow lion named Sanja she has raised since they both were young, she often personally leads her armies from atop her steed against the hated Empire. In battle she wields the Treecapitator, a witch bane axe that draws strength from killing those of Primordial blood. In her case, this means the Trees and their children. The weapon was forged shortly after the Royal court arrived in the mountains as a collaborative work between the kingdoms FireBrands, may of whom were among the refugees from the Empire, and the local Ice Witches. The twin blades were built around a bo-staff artifact that was held by the monastery and given to the king as a gift on his arrival. Over the years it has been continually worked on and improved as it has slayed the hated enemies of the Kingdom, and its latest contributors are the Harpy mages Hajnal and Faizya.
She took the throne after the death of her parents at the battle of mt Sethren at the age of 14 and in the 8 years since she has shown herself to be shrewd diplomat and skilful warrior, having defeated an attempted invasion by the empire and having made an proper alliance with the Harpies, to replace their previous vague enemy of my enemy agreement they had previously, that has held up for 6 years. Charismatic if a bit headstrong, she fully believes she can succeed in her task, of only she can get the proper foreign assistance.
Hajnal the Frozen Angel: Greatest of the Ice Witches, Hajnal is a 4 winged mutant of the Harpy race. Such individuals are believed to be touched by the divine by her people, which has given her considerable influence among the various harpy tribes. She acts as the closest thing the harpy tribes have to a leader or spokesperson for their collective interests. It was through a friendship formed between her and the young Queen that the humans and harpies were brought together for the first time in a formal alliance since humans arrived in the mountains. There have been whispering among the Tribes about a possible royal marriage to cement the alliance, a line of planning hampered somewhat by the fact that the humans don’t realize/understand that Hajnal is male.
Faizya the Phoenix: A former Ice witch who has devoted herself fully to the art of the firebrand since the alliance between the harpies and the humans was forged. This rejection of tradition has alienated her somewhat from her kin, and the harpy has effectively joined the joined the royal court as a result. The young Firebrand is known to dote on Hajnal, much to her annoyance and the confusion of the court. For her part, the queen has grown fond of the brazen harpy who has adopted her people's ways to fight the Empire as effectively as possible despite the grumblings of her elders.
Sir Glenway Grandson of the famed hero, the Glenway family has served as noble warriors for the Royal family for many generations. His grandfather died in the last war of emerald conquest, and his father in the battle that took the lives of the old King and Queen. Despite the fates of his forefathers, Glenway lives to serve his queen, but at the same time he also lives for the day he can take revenge upon those that killed his predecessors. Sir Glenway has a somewhat high opinion of both himself and the kingdom, and is known to overestimate the capabilities of both.
History
The Kingdom of Shenra once occupied most of the lands that now make up the Emerald Empire’s continental Provenances but after a series of wars the empire slowly forced the Kingdom to ceded more and more land until eventually a final invasion was launched to take the remaining territory of the Kingdom, that was now 40% of it’s original size. After a series of battles, the kingdom's forces were left in ruin and the current king was forced to flee. The king, his family and a few surviving noble families eventually found themselves chased into the Frozen cliffs, but loyal locals gave them refuge. The Dryads following them quickly grew sick of the weather and gorilla attacks made by the locals and abandoned the chase.
The royals and nobles ended up setting up court in the holy summit monastery, from which they began to plan to reclaim the rest of the kingdom. Subsequent attempts by the Empire to oust the court failed due to repeated underestimation as to how difficult such a task would be. By the time the Empire learned their lessons the court had managed to organise a proper military that narrowly defeated the invasion force in a pitched battle thanks to a flanking maneuver performed thanks to local knowledge. Since then there has been a stalemate, with both sides failing to make serious headway in breaking into the other’s territory.
Relations
Emerald Empire: at war
Empire of Matatharan: with the war between the Emerald and Matatharan empires looking inevitable, the kingdom has been in talks with Matatharan over a joint campaign against the Dreaming Forest’s southern holding. Matathran wants the Southern coast, but they do not care about anything up North. Once the annexation is over, they have promised to not invade the mountains, to set up favorable trade accommodations and the right to a share of the spoils. Once the port is claimed, Matathran would then support future military endeavors on the kingdom’s part to reclaim the Northern regions.
Tarkima: The northern tribes as a whole were forever a thorn in the side of the kingdom, but a certain amount of trade was know between them. Some of the nobles can trace their ancestry back to Clansmen who settled in the kingdom in ages past, and the royal bloodline also has connections to the northmen, through conquest and political marriage.
Characters
Lord Solgarand A close friend of the old royal couple and Godfather to their daughter, Solgarand helped guide the young queen after her parent’s death. Old, wise and well experienced in the business of kingdom management simply by association with its former ruler, Lord Solgarand does much of the actual every day to day running of the kingdom while the young Queen works to secure its future. bAck in is his youth Solgarand was a mighty warrior in his own right, but now he takes more of a leadership role, helping plan strategy and coordinate tactical maneuvering rather than getting stuck into the thick of it with his lionhammer.
Captain Tempkin Head of the royal guards, Tempkin is the trusted guardian of the Queen, her fighting instructor and a well respected military leader to boot. Much like how Solgarand deals with much of the civilian affairs for the Queen, Tempkin is incharge of much of the arm’s logistics, training and recruitment jobs. He performers these duties with a calm and logical, if rather blunt, attitude.
The Cetera-Matris pact
Government
The Cetera-Matris are not an actual nation, despite holding territory, but rather a mutual defense pact sealed between the guardians of two sleeping primordials, the seldom seen icy the Frost Forged and the aquatic Rayneids. The two races are the guardians for a pair of primordials who sleep securely at the heart of their respective domains, ready to awaken “when the sun freezes over and the moonlight burns with a blue fire”.These two primordials reside beneath two elaborate temple complexes, one built in the depths of the bay of lights houses the burning moon and the other at the heart of the Frozen Cliffs mountain range is the resting place of the frozen sun. Their two cultures are theocracies, the Rayneids ruled by an order of sorcerer priestess known as the moon kissed daughters and the the Frost Forged by 5 ancient elders who are permanent, statuesque, fixtures of the gateway leading to their master’s sealed chambers.
Geography
The Rayneids live in 6 underwater cities/temple complexes, 5 smaller ones evenly spaced around the 6th larger one, called Primus, that houses their master. Primus is built at the bottom of a deep fissure that has geothermal vents at the bottom and acts as the capital and locus for the Rayneids power. The other 5 sit on the ocean floor and act as anchors for an enormous ritual circle that was made before the longwatch began and who’s propose the watchers dare not guess or tamper with.
The Frost Forged meanwhile live in various small ice castles found in the most inaccessible regions of the frozen cliffs. Atop the highest mountain lies a temple known as the frozen peak, of which the holy summit is and unknown poor reflection, that houses the primordials sleeping chamber. Some of these castles link down to a tunnel system below the mountain, some of which lead to the coast and to a hidden cove south of Fidgit port where the the Frost Forged keep their small navy.
Culture
Rayneids: The seldom seen Merfolk of the Sea of Lights are the ones who give the waters their name, as their nocturnal magical ceremonies of moon worship form spots of blood red light can be seen from the shore of the empire on the night of a full moon. The bane of fishing communities and smugglers, the Rayneids are known to attack lonely vessels to steal their cargo. The Empire really doesn’t care about this harassment, as the Fishfolk do not attack the mighty Living Ships due to the high risk of doing so.
The Rayneids live in an incredibly religious society. All live to serve the church, from the lowlies fish farmer to the mightiest warrior and most devout priestess. The fishfolk have their duty drilled into them from a young age and are incredibly devout as a result, all most all are content with their place in life, a place generally chosen for them by the will of the clergy. Devotion is reinforced by every part of their culture, their cities are huge temple complexes, were the workers are effectively servants and the warriors divinely blessed paladins. The priests are magically gifted individuals who are trained from an early age to maintain the ancient mysterious works of their primordial progenitor. These works often involving repainting worn down runes with a special magically produced paint made partially with primordial essence infused blood, something the clergy willingly give on a regular basis. In return for this noble sacrifice the recently bleed priests live pampered lives, ostensibly to ensure their quick recovery. Some priests spend their entire lives in a perpetual cycle of bleeding and recovery, but those who hold real power and influence generally forgo the luxurious rewards to stay active and engaged with the varios subtle schemes and power plays that the highest of high priests engage in. More or less these games of subterfuge exist to occupy their time and keep them sharp incase crises does occur.
The raiders are the Rayneids with the most freedom, more than even their religiously bound leaders. They score the local region for hunting, raiding and trading opportunities, looking to bring back extra food and precious metals to their kin. The most valuable things they can aquire are corrosion proof metals, namely gold, silver and bronze. These metals supplement the mainly stone age level of technology used by the Rayneids: leather, bone, shells, teeth and stone make up the majority of their tools and structures, metal that can survive underwater are used either to add decoration to temples, as the basis for enchanted tools or statues, or as highly prized weapons that are preserved over generations and handed out ot only the most skilled warriors.
Magically the Rayneids practice 3 schools. Ice magic learned from the the Frost Forged that is often used to create tough and buoyant magical maintained weapons, structures, armor, etc. Blood magic involving using either their own or other’s blood as weapons. Finally they practice a divine magic based on a pale blue moonlight that supperheats anything it touches that is used to boil targets alive or in their limited metalsmithing.
The Frost Forged: beings so rare they are thought of as myths by most, these icy beings live at the heart of the Frozen cliffs around castles made from Millennia old ice. Little is known about them by outsiders but the myths and legends of the locals, for they rarely leave their domain and when they do the elements mask their travels. Their home is thought to be the origin of the unnatural cold permeating the land and they are also whispered to be the source of the Ice Witch traditions.
the Frost Forged are replacement for the harpies who originally acted as guardians, but who were too free spirited to be relied upon to stay true though the generations. As the fickle birds slowly abandoned the old ways and temples those worshipers, human, harpy and others, who remained true began to seek either a fresh source of guardians or some way to increase their own power and tranced mortality so that they could maintain an eternal vigilance. They found both in the way, the ice which tradition is an incredibly powerful and reckless form of magic, capable of great feats but also runs the potential to run wild if poorly handled. The fate of Merken fortress is one example of this instability, and the the Frost Forged are another. Ice witches powers who lose control become consumed by the magic of the frozen sun and become frozen creatures known as Solnarigh. An intentional flaw in the tradition, the trap generally claims the old, the weak, the desperate or the foolhardy, all who are then lured to the frozen peak by the sirens call of the 5 elders who created the tradition.
This hypnotic song never leaves the the Frost Forged mind and it makes them willing slaves of the temple, eternal guardians of their new sleeping master. As a result of this method the Frost Forged are few in number and hard to replace but make up for this in being entirely made up of incredibly durable and ancient mages. The nature of the cures however means that there are very few exceptional members among their ranks, those powerful enough or wise enough to have been great in life generally can avoid a frozen fate without even knowing it is a risk.
Pact: The pact that binds the two races together is ancient and is an agreement that the two will come to eachothers aid should outsiders attempt to interfere with their sleeping master's work or resting places. They also agree not to attempt to expand or do anything that might provoke any foreign powers while also ensuring that their realms stay free from foreign interest. There has been some wiggle room in this of course, the Rayneids’ raids have made them a nuisance for their terrestrial neighbours and the the Frost Forged have done little to expel others from their mountains due to relying on them for fresh recruits.
Military
The majority of the force capable of being feild by the Cetera-Matris pact are Reighnade warriors: armored in naturalistic materials such as leather or shells and using weapons made with obsidian, sharks teeth etc. the lack of metal and smithing capacity and the limited number of alloys capable of surviving the saline environment means that such implements are generally only found in the hands of the elite. Metal weapons might be used by notable warriors, but only the Secred guards of the priestesses have metal armor. On the magical side of things they can make use of their innate cold reistiacne and knowledge of ice magic to make equipment (and entire structures) from Pykrete, a substance made from ice and Pulp. Pykrete features unusual properties, including a relatively slow melting rate due to its low thermal conductivity, as well as a vastly improved strength and toughness compared to ice. These physical properties can make the material comparable to concrete, as long as the material is kept frozen, but has the advantage of being buoyant. Rayneids can fight on land, slithering across it like snakes, but much prefer the seas of their birth.
The military's heavy hitters are magical in nature, with the Rayneids playing a more supporting roll, with their mages producing Pykrete, enchanted weapons and specialised war golems, made from statues of their sleeping mother, that they use to both fight for them and as mobile focuses for their power. These golems are large serpentine beings with multiple arms capable of firing thin beams of moonlight that bold flesh and water alike along their path. They are considered sacred monuments and normally decorate the sides of the subnautica temples, few ever leave their resting places. The five minor temples each feature 15~ of these monuments. The capital may have 100~ statues, but only desperate times would cause the priestesses to lower the amount of fortifications their most holy site has.
The The Frost Forged meanwhile are incredibly few in number, their numbers barely brushing against the hundreds, but are all proficient ice witches, capable of dangerous spellcraft while also being protected by their frozen forms. They loath to leave their frozen homes to go fight with their allies due to their number being incredibly difficult to replenish and as such only a handful will ever leave their posts at any given time. A notable part of their military are their ice ships, almost see through vessels made from ice that they use to travel across the waves. They are capable of fighting beneath the waves if they equip heavy manacles that let their buoyant bodies sink below the waves.
Heroes
Relations
Non aggression pact: The emerald empire have a very limited dialogue with the pact, mosty spawning from the days when they were in the series of wars that resulted in their conquest of most of Shenra when they struck a nonaggression pact with the Rayneids. Since then minor correspondence has been ongoing entirely on the terms of the Rayneids, who generally only initiate a dialogue on the surface when they send envoys to complain about things, while the EE has to make do with sending dead drops down into the dark if they want to communicate. For the most part, the two stay out of eachothers way
Characters
Alexix: venerated daughter of the burning moon and de facto spokesperson for her sisters Yastrel: high ranking sacred guard/general, clad in full bronze armor coated in true ice, she carries a sword that was a gift from the Emerald Empire
The Empire of Khandarai is a Monarchy presided over by an Empress whose decisions are final and binding upon her people. She is advised by an appointed council drawn from the various Houses that make up the upper class of the Empire. Should the Empress die, a Magical rite is cast that calls upon an ancient spirit, the Khandarai believe it is the spirit of the Prophetess herself, who then travels the Empire and selects a minimum of five young women who are then put through a gruelling set of tasks and tests of their skill. The survivor is crowned Empress of Khandarai.
Geography
The Kafadan River Valley
The Empire of Khandarai is a nation that has found its way in the harsh central desert of Askor. Bordered on East and West by massive Mountain ranges that serve to deflect most moisture away, it is a hard and foreboding place. Even the desert itself is broken in many places by violent movements in the earth. There is however one large river, the Kafadan River, that actually pours forth from the desert, welling up from deep beneath the surface of the earth, winding its way north to the coast where the Empires only seaport, Basul, resides.
All along that river is a green belt of lush fertile land that supports much of the Empire. There are other oasis, hidden away in the deeper portions of the desert and they are known almost exclusively to the Salakan themselves. These are reached by ancient camel roads and, in some cases, by travelling through the great ravines and canyons that cut across the sun baked surface.
Most Khandarai towns and villages are located in the same canyons and ravines, built into places where some shelter can be found from the ever present sun. The Capital itself, Shasa, is located at the head of the great river where it pours from the earth, the river providing both defence and life for the city. Though not the largest city in the Empire, that title goes to Basul, it is certainly the most impressive for its
The City of Shasa, the Imperial Capital
Life is tough in Khandarai, made even more difficult by the dangerous creatures that lurk in places even the sun never reaches. Wyverns are not unknown in Salakan and while the majority are hostile, some Khandarai have managed to tame the beasts and use them in battle, though never outside of Khandarai as leaving the desert often leads to them becoming sick and, eventually, to death.
Culture
The Empire of Khandarai is unique in the world for its class system in which females rule the Empire, provide the skilled fighting force, and males are used for breeding, menial labour tasks, or occupy lower castes of society.
The Khandarai worship the Prophetess who they believe showed them that women can be strong and independent, capable of caring for themselves and their offspring. Large temples exist to worship the Prophetess as, over the years, her image has changed from one of inspiration to one of divine entity.
The Empire is relatively young in the grand scheme of things, no older than the legends of the Prophetess who gave the first Empress the courage to rise up against the vicious enslavement of the desert tribes patriarchal society. Women were bought and sold like cattle, they had no rights and their lives forfeit for any reason deemed necessary by a male family member or relative.
Fuelled by her freedom and the burning desire to never agin let men control her destiny, the first Empress led her comrades to overthrow and slaughter the patriarchy that ruled the sands. In a cruel twist of irony that the Khandarai see as but a small vengeance for the tribulations they suffered, men are now taken in raids, or purchased through a lively slave economy, and used for the purposes of breeding, or fulfilling menial jobs within the Empire. Male offspring are ritualistically killed, enslaved by neighbouring Houses, or simply sold at auction in Basul. Many Khandarai males can be found in the slave galleys of the world, or wandering from home. To return would mean death.
Female offspring raised in the fighting spirit of their mothers and given every advantage possible to succeed in their harsh climate and while some leave to see the world, the majority remain within the boundaries of the Empire.
A Khandarai Warrior engages a pair of Yarimas
The Khandarai conduct trade through Basul but also engage in lively raiding against their neighbours, and even amongst themselves if there is no one else to fight. Broken up in Houses, Khandarai boasts seven Great Houses, and a dozen lesser houses, all of whom control various portions of the region. The power and wealth of each House has risen and fallen over the years, none truly holding any real power, all beholden to the Empress in the end.
The Khandarai are a Humanoid race, though they have an increased ability to see in the dark and are hardier than their neighbours. Their skin is darker than their neighbours as well, ranging from a soft brown to black as night.
Military
Khandarai Warriors
The Empire of Khandarai is best described as an army with an Empire. So dangerous is the desert that all Khandarai are taught to fight and survive from a very young age. One of the great tests of their full rise to womanhood is a week spent in the desert with nothing but a small blade, a bow, and a single canteen of water.
The Khandarai excel in small unit operations. They are far to isolated and spread apart to be able to form large armies and in Khandarai, big armies starve and small armies are defeated. Like many other nations they have their share of archers, sword masters, cavalry, and the like. Their cavalry tends to be far from traditional horses and camels, and beasts found in the desert are tamed wherever possible.
Magic is a powerful tool of the Khandarai, spells that allow assist them in vanishing in to, and surviving, the great desert. The Khandarai themselves are far from the most dangerous thing to be found in the desert and any Khandarai worth their salt has learned how to hide from the predators that inhabit their home.
Enchantments are common amongst the fighting forces as well in the form of fire, lightening, or even poisoned weapons. Priestesses of the Prophetess are the only true magic users of the Empire, either as Healers, Spell Casters, or Spellswords. The Spellswords are a unique melee class of warrior that use magic to augment their fighting ability.
Heroes
Khawla al-Mir
Khawla al-Mir, a legend in her time. She is the greatest Khandarai Spellsword of the latest hundred years. Fighting with little to no armour, she wields two scimitars with deadly skill and precision. Her warlike nature often brings her to the fore of raids against enemy settlements and ferociously hunts the strange and wonderful beasts of the desert. She is a master of small unit operation and often works with a picked band of fighters that she considers worthy of her company.
Naaila al-Arshad
Naaila al-Arshad is the most skilled Beast Master in the Empire. She excels in the taming of various monsters found in the desert and using them to great effect against each other, or against her enemies. She is the only known living Khandarai to have ridden on a Wyvern though it is not something she tries on a regular basis as her hold on a creature is not permanent.
History
WIP. Waiting to see details on Western neighbours.
Relations
Khandarai enjoys a wild roller coaster of relations with pretty much everyone. They are not against raiding their neighbours one day, and trading with them the next. The desert holds many precious and incredibly rare stones, spices, and the skins from any number of desert beasts can fetch a small fortune.
Khandarai does not have great fortresses built at her borders, in fact, it is easy enough for anyone to enter the desert, leaving it is another adventure altogether. A single major road, known as the Spice Road, transits from East to West, leapfrogging from oasis to oasis. Trade caravans regularly pass along this route and it is the only place a foreigner can be assured they are safe from Khandarai raiders, if they come in peace.
Characters
WIP
Creature Glossary
The Hakam is a nightmarish combination of a common scorpion and a feline, if they were both large and terrifying. Living in packs of five to eight individuals, the Hakam sleep by day and hunt by night, aided by excellent night sight and deadly speed. They do not discriminate on what they eat and anything that moves in their home ranges is fair game.
The Yarima are large creatures, ten times the size of the camel, and just as badly tempered. They move about in small family groups of three to four individuals, their large clawed feet are webbed, allowing them to travel quickly over the loose sand despite their size and weight. Their heads are heavily armoured and taper into sharp horns at points, all the better to battle their main predator, the Wyvern.
Yngvar is the homeland of dwarves, bordering multiple nations and close to the major trade routes. They are known for their unique culture, skilled craftsmanship and mercenaries. The nation is generally referred as Yngvar but alternatives include: Yngvarseidgenossenschaft (semi-official), Eidgenossenschaft, Zwölfberge, Yngvarsland, Free Cities, Dwarvish Hills, etc...
Geography
Yngvar is both the name of the land and the unique chain of mountains populating it. There are twelve major mountains with a large city-state each. Due to their government structure Yngvarians don't have a capital, in theory all 12 cities are equal.
Culture
Yngvar in archaic dwarvish means "protected by Yngvi" and this is more than just a name for the inhabitants. Yngvar mountains are considered sacred to dwarves and while they are open to visitors they are far less willing to let them stay. As such Yngvar's population is predominantly dwarvish. Yngvi itself is an entity considered the creator of the dwarves, some consider it a Primordial others as something else. Some even connect Yngvi with the Serene One. Yngvi is the great ancestor and teacher of dwarves, universally respected by them. Dwarvish relationship with other faiths is somewhat strange, while they don't belong to either Argenism or the Serene Church they can respect them. In return dwarves are left alone with their faith which can be best described as ancestor worship while mixing elements from other faiths. What elements? It depends on the dwarf you ask, they tend to shape their beliefs to whichever large religion they're the closest. This does not harm dwarvish faith and also allow them to easily integrate with other cultures. Aside from religion dwarves are also well-known for their work moral and practical thinking. They are diligent craftsmen famous for their skills. They are also somewhat distant with other races, always keeping them at arms length. Another weird custom and show of their craftsmanship is that they wear armor. Every adult dwarf, be male or female are mandated to wear at least a maile shirt outside. Some cities' customs even mandate helmets or a full hauberk. Due to their robust build this does not bother a walk during their daily life and keeps reminding outsiders to tread carefully with them. This also gave dwarves an interesting nickname: Ironskins.
Dwarves are short (at average 4 feet tall) but robust humanoids known to be great workers and craftsmen. Their proportional strength is twice that of humans (but evens up in a brawl due to size difference) and their bodies are denser and overall tougher. Dwarves prefer to live in caves and have decent senses underground. At average a dwarf shows aging after 100 years and can live up to 150 years. They are also extremely resilient to temperature differences and disease. Their drawbacks are their short stature which also make them slower runners (though they can jump well) and their dense bodies sink almost like a rock in water thus dwarves almost never learn how to swim. They also have poor long distance vision compared to humans,albeit they can almost see in the dark which make them more comfortable to find their way through caves. Dwarven pregnancy lasts for 4 years and during that women aren't any less capable of work. Consequently, dwarvish culture rarely differentiates between the jobs of men and women, thus you could find female laborers and soldiers almost as often as men. Pregnancy is followed by 10 years of infertility, though which might be partially responsible for the low birth rates among dwarves. Combined with their longevity this evens out but dwarves in general think differently about time.
Government
Yngvar is ruled by twelve clans centered around a mountain each. These mountain city states are completely autonomous and at best can be only considered to be in alliance with each other, though some likes to call it a non-aggression pact. All leaders are tied by blood oath to not turn their arms against each other. They regularly hold the Twelve Chairs council, where the 12 Dwarven Lords sit at round table and discuss matters that involve entire Yngvar. Number of laws are laid down in the past that apply to all clans equally and they have certain obligations to defend each other. Aside from that all Clans are free to do whatever they want.
Military
Dwarves beleive in individual powers and that no self-respective adult member should be unable to defend themselves. All dwarves above a certain age know how to fight while wearing armor and weapons, often their own craftsmanship or family heirloom. For this reason other nations often dub the dwarves as Ironskins because they nearly always coat themselves in metal armors. In times of need citizens band together to defend their home. In addition to that there are dwarves who dedicated themselves to military service, either as watchmen and police force known as the Shieldbearers or to become full-blown mercenary. The latter often become travelers going from country-to-country until they return and settle down in their Clan as combat instructors and military leaders. As such dwarvish military are often a mix of eager volunteer militia, town watch and professional mercenaries.
Bultzer or Bolzer is a Yngvarian weapon similar to crossbows. Instead of a bow they rely on torsion or coil springs to launch bolts at a distance. The name "Bolter" is a mistranslation, the original word actually just means "thrower" in archaic Dwarvish. Bolters are narrower than crossbows which makes them less unwieldy in dwarvish hands. There are countless variants and working mechanisms depending on personal needs. A typical bolter design for example uses a long coil spring which can be pulled back in a pumping action without taking your eyes off the target. Such weapons are mostly for self defense, their bolts can only penetrate maille with gambeson padding at short ranges. Other variants sacrifice speed and comfort for more power. There are two-handed pull, lever action (akin to goat's foot), windlass, cranequin and even more diverse variants. Heavy Bolter is a term almost synonymous with heavy crossbows and often used very similarly in combat. Mastercrafted Bolters often replace the steel spring with mithril, such gadgets are called Thundercoils for their speed and noise compared to regular coil springs. Bolters are also not exclusive to handheld weapons, dwarven siege engines also make various siege weapons. While Bolter technology is mostly by Yngvarians and many craftsmen are reluctant to share their art with outsiders, these weapons are still occasionally made and sold for other countries.
Characters
TBA
Relations
Yngvar generally has good relations with its neighbors but only while keeping them at arms length. Dwarves travel a lot and known through the continent and while Wotanism isn't quite celebrated, both Argenist and Selenist faiths mostly tolerate it. That being said Yngvarian culture is exclusive to dwarves and other nationalities only know few details about it.
Freishann is pronounced more akin to ‘Freis-hann’ than ‘Frei-shann’.
“The Freishannese got the freshest knees” “Freishannese are fresher than these" "Freishannese are better than bees" "The Freishanese despise frozen peas"
Goldeagle @Lone Wanderer are you aware that the Frieshannese have the freshest knees?
Lone Wanderer Just rumours.
Goldeagle They are also the freshest of these. How do you feel about these allegations?
Lone Wanderer Greatly disturbed. There is nothing fresh about the Frieshan, they are barbarian savages living pathetic lives in the squats that they call homes.
Goldeagle There have been reports that their leader, The Fresh Prince, has called your government "whack," how do you retaliate?
Lone Wanderer With silence. King Alaric will whisper his retort to the Fresh Prince himself before he is exiled to Bel air.
High Kingdom of Freishann
Government
Most of Freishann is run by a combination of mayoral dynasts and the clannish nobility, answering to the Monarch, High King or Queen. The cities and their shortly surrounding areas have fallen into mayoral control, reinforced by their control of the merchant marine while the nobility manages the majority of the land and peasant populations through various castles and forts, although not directly, most noble land are actually various holds held by contract to the Noble estate. The Monarchs of Freishann have always had difficulty effectively managing this system however the current Dynasty, House Glynbhasdoich, have maintained their own holdings and expanded their power over the competing groups by the establishment of the Royal Freishann Navy and expansion of the Royal Guards into the Royal Legion. The Modern Dynasty have consistently maintained and expanded their hold slowly turning the feudal realm into a more directly controlled state.
Geography
There is the Spine of the East in its titular direction, it is a large barrier for organized traffic to and from Freishann over land although they are not completely impassable, the few mountain paths are not something to be traversed easily. The Spine of the East are very tall and actually block most of the rain fall further East, helping establish the great desert that is Khandarai. Further west the terrain smooths out from the mountains into forested hills which make up the majority of the terrain in Freishann, although in the far west as you approach the coast the terrain flattens to a greater degree.
Freishann is fairly temperate although temperatures vary with altitude and various dependencies of weather as air fronts can have a large impact on the climate of Freishann. Normally a decent amount of rainfall and the numerous streams and creeks from that are enough to water the land for agriculture, and for the broad forests.
In the West there are three cities of note, one is the largest city in Freishann, Yfalmond a major port between the other two Western cities Yfalmond is known as a center of trade between Freishann and foreign powers. Another city of note in the West is Galtheas to the North, a minor naval base and while isolated by land it is quite well connected by its strategic position for trade. Finally in the South is the city of Riverlume notable for being on the coast and down river from the Capital of Asyhaven, Riverlume is located near the mouth of the river giving it a strong position in connection with trade going up to the Capital.
In the North by the lesser hills is the city of Sysehold, which grew up around a noble hold and was the Capital of most of the Second Dynasty High Kings, it has declined in years as it has little connection to the broader world of trade excepting the river, and even that it is far to transport much. As well there is the city of Thalecliff on the Northern Coast, being the only major port till Galtheas it receives a lot of traffic and is a minor naval base, many due to concerns of piracy and raiding by sea by various groups.
The Capital of Asyhaven is an old city, previously it was named for the first High King, Eldaernth Beiphumírt, but its name was changed after its capture by the first High Queen Asyln Glynbhasdoich. Supported by the broad connections of the Rivers as well as the central Highways that unite much of Freishann Asyhaven is prospering, especially due to the number of Royal projects built around it in recent times. Asyhaven does have a much smaller merchant population proportional to the other cities, the smallest outside Sysehold, likely do to the lesser necessity of trade for the city.
Most of the Cities of Freishann have large guild and merchant populations often being the source for much of the creations of art and working although many of the river towns and villages provide a small amount in brief shipments to the cities.
Culture
Frieshann is made of four major cultural groups and three major ethnic groups although variation and minority populations are not unknown. Almost every native inhabitant is Human, except for Vuor and the Vuori drow and the few foreigners. Common threads between these cultures are an honor and devotion virtue culture. Although this varies in how it presents itself. In the East duels, feuds and strong Prophetess worship dominate while in the West mercantile interests and a less fanatically Prophetess worship operate. However overall, what unites the nation as a whole is an intense thread of individualism, from lordlings, wishing independence to the free farmers and holders living as they please, merchants following the money and their desires and the Magi and independent projects. Almost every group and person will follow their desires and needs, the average Freishannese values and seeks self-reliance as a goal.
In addition to these groups, there is also the split in the magical population between Witches/Warlocks and the Magi.
The Nobility is composed of the various lords, ladies, and semi-tribal leaders. They hold sway primarily in rural areas although some do have sizeable urban populations within their estates. Normally the Nobility is not united as a class, divided normally along religious and cultural lines as well as the numerous political and family feuds. Nobles usually have their own military forces although some are better equipped than others. As well the nobility is forbidden from raising arms against each other, even in duels, this has led to a very status focused mindset that has at time been not in the High Kingdom’s interests, but still far superior to earlier decentralized rule.
As part of Royal consolidation in the past where the various levies were loyal to their local Lords in a particularly bad regional drought in exchange for relief and saving their lands the Nobles of that region gave up their obligation to protect their peasants to the crown, effectively transferring the loyalties over time. Although said Nobles were still used as administrators and had the powers of judgment and low law on their lands, power was transferred to the crown. Over the intervening time, the Crown has worked to expand that to every Noble house in the High Kingdom, effectively usurping their power.
In the South, this system is the weakest, particularly around the lands that used to be the petty Kingdoms that only barely acknowledged the High King. With their reintegration into the realm proper, this system was expanded, something that many Nobles in the South are still simmering from.
The Mayoral Dynasts, composed of the various ‘elected’ citizens of the Western towns. Normally the position of leader of the western towns is simply past from Father to Son, occasionally it switches to another line as the wealth shifts. The Mayoral Dynasts usually are fairly separate from the Nobility although some intermarrying does occur for political reasons, the positions of power are kept separate by many involved. The Dynasts control most of Freishann’s merchant marine and the town guards, although those tend to be split among the competing factions of the Burgher families.
In smaller towns, there is usually only one powerful family although fractured or mutual control is not unknown. In larger towns and the few cities, multiple families are normally in mutual control of the city, usually in some form of districting and council command. Although this structure leads to some instability, especially when feuds get particularly bad, it does provide a healthy forum for competition, usually. No family ever really gets full power as the Royal government works to keep them divided, usually through taxes to keep one family from ascending too high.
The Freishann Church of the Divine Aspect, or the Freishann Church. In truth, the Church is very powerful in Freishann, although it is strongly limited by three factors. First is the Royal family, although the Royals are limited in what they can do to the Church there is a powerful limitation, a requirement as part of exemption from any taxes based on property or donation, and acknowledgement as the State Religion, the Church is required to use large amounts of their income for ‘morally righteous causes’ feeding the poor, improving roads, building new churches in limited cases, as well as many other various causes or actions.
The Second factor is resultant of a matter of the large difference in opinion on the Prophetess in terms of doctrine. As there is a potent minority, primarily in the west, of believers in ‘Serene Argentism’ which while definite still Argentist, has notable influences to various degrees from the Serenist Faith. By Royal decree, these worshippers are not to be ‘unduly’ persecuted, mostly limited to banning public proselytization from that faith although they are allowed temples and other such religious institutions. This was part of a deal to maintain unity in the nation with religious leaders of both sides, the ‘Serene Agrentists’ would acknowledge the head of the Freishann Church as the high religious authority of the land and in exchange, the aforementioned tolerance would be allowed. Notably, this was struck after a series of religious riots by the primarily Orthodox populations in the west.
The Third factor is/are the Druids. Although rarely called that anymore by anyone excepting their followers, witches, and warlocks being a far more common term. They primarily hold sway in very rural areas and places where the old faith has remained, they are secretive and used to be the only magically trained group in Freishann, although siding with the last High King of the second Dynasty destroyed that. Primarily the Druids have been able to hide from any witch-hunters or inquisitors with help from the populace, in recent years a grudging tolerance has evolved in which the Church does not acknowledge their existence, giving them their religious grounds in areas which they can remain hidden.
Overall doctrinally the Freishann Church is fairly loose compared to the Eastern churches, not to say that individual populations are not as strict, however, the National Church remains a calm aloofness to the smaller disputes allowing for a rough kind of tolerance by condemning those who resort to violence and otherwise remaining neutral. This is strongly influenced by most of the Priesthood coming from Royal institutions and the Royal family being very insistent on unity, often assisting into the priesthood persons who would further Royal control rather than a doctrinal dispute.
Coming soon!
In the east there is the Faens, a clannish group of which a king of theirs founded the High Kingdom of Freishann. Known for being particularly fanatical about the Prophetess often holding little respect for those who have ‘failed’ to see her divine message. They hold even less for those who don’t see the primordials as gods. The Faens are close-knit and distrustful of outsiders, this attitude has ascended to Freishann’s nobility which is mostly descendants of Faens groups that followed the First Dynasty. In addition, the Faens are known to have a particular sense of honor, although this is somewhat different from the Chivalric meaning of the word. An oath will be kept and facing battle is glorious, but so is killing your foes while they’re sleeping, some consider this a more ‘practical’ code.
Faens have traditionally been at odds with centralized control, one of the Originations of the High Kingdom was the fact of all the petty Kings that had to be reigned in to establish it in the first place. As well some of the more isolated rural populations have been known to hold on to their old beliefs and while that is tolerated they also tend to be hiding grounds for witches and warlocks.
In the south there is the Amarites, a Freishann group closely related to Atharian people, they are descendants of a group of Atharians that were conquered by the First Kings of Freishann. Because of this despite their ethnic closeness to the Atharians their cultural and religious ties have made them very loyal to Freishann over time, even if they do wish for more independence from the crown that has not made them unwilling to accept their duties to it, in most cases. Nobles of the South tend to share Vaen and Atharian ancestry.
Amarite Nobles trend more towards mounted warfare then is common among other Freishann Nobility who tend to fight in Elite Infantry units. This has provided Freishann with a decent force of heavy and light cavalry, particularly of use against Eastern incursions.
In the West there is the Dulmaets, another group that shares historic ties to the High Kingdom, the Dulmaets are ethnically similar to the Faens, however, the historic separation and differing geography have created a strikingly different culture. Whereas the Faens have a relatively strong Honor culture and intense devotion to the Prophetess in all manners Orthodox, the Dulmaets have a countervailing wealth and success culture. Not to mention that most of the half-heretical ideas come from Dulmaetean priests, even if they are devoted in a way, just looser with the Doctrinal necessity.
In the Eastern mountains far to the north along the coast where a large number of valleys predominate, are the Vuori. Originally incorporated into Freishann some centuries ago as some tribal drow, the Vuori are now a fully settled and ‘civilized’ people. Most are of predominantly drow bloodlines although mixtures are not uncommon. Especially given the relations with Tsunatontu, most Freishannese are only really familiar with the Vuori.
The Vuori call their land Vuor, it occupies an interesting place in Freishannese politics. While they do enjoy many privileges, particularly in governance making the region almost like its own state, they also have very extensive infrastructure, both civilian built to help ‘civilize’ the region, and military. In the civilian sphere various mines and terrace farms, forges and granaries, as well as roads and many other pieces of vital support make a broad support of the Vuori life, most of which was originally constructed in whole or part by the High King’s men and with the High King’s money in centuries past. Even to this day the council which governs Vuor often requests material from the Kingdom to various things that they cannot provide themselves.
The military situation is a bit different than the rest of Freishann. A large number of outposts and forts block most passes through the valleys, particularly in the east, most of these were built during the initial unrest period to prevent successful revolt and deter it in the first place. Now most have been handed over to the Vuori militia although the Eastern border forts are a joint Royal and Vuori effort to prevent invasion from Tsunatontu.
Strongly linked to the Druids the terms ‘Witch’ and ‘Warlock’ are used differently by the general population and those aligned to the Druids. While the general populations uses them to apply to any kind of non-Magi magical user the Druids themselves only use it to refer to magical users who have rejected their teachings and are not Magi, striking out on their own. In any case, Druids are often much more secretive and willing to remain hidden tending to populations that believe them correct. Witches and Warlocks in the Druidic meaning are much more prone to be willing to make a stand against what they perceive as a wrong. Which may be healing, supporting populations or attempting to murder the Magi. In any case, they are hunted down, violent or hostile Witches and Warlocks are often slain by Witch-Hunters while others tend to get drawn into the Magi one way or the other.
The Magi are the official magical group of the High Kingdom. Centered on Royal magical institutions the Magi tend to be a very scholarly in their work, although a few go into working as Witch-Hunters or assisting the army. Because of this scholarly bent, the Magi are often found in Collegiums for magical use, usually conducting experiments or research into magical fields, some of which has been more successful than others. This has meant however that the Magi are significantly less combat prepared than many mages from other nations. The Primary Collegium can be found near the Capital, often a very prestigious position to be allowed to operate from there, and an influential one.
The structure of the Magi is generally very loose however there are some observances. Officially Magi are only those students of the magical arts who have been initiated by ceremony, with the title of ‘Magus’ being awarded then. Additional titles are sometimes awarded by the Grand Magus or the High King for exceptional achievement or ability, the Grand Magus being the head of all Collegiums appointed by the High King. Students who are not yet initiated are presented with the titles of Magus First, Second or Third being used in ascending order of skill and power. Many never become full Magus and remain in the enumerated class.
Military
The vast majority of the forces of Freishann are a kind of medium infantry. Most are equipped with lighter armors and trained for mobility and surefootedness both in the rough terrain of Freishann but also on ships given their vital importance. This trade-off means that Freishann cannot match the heavy infantry of other nations with the majority of its troops however it has a very large degree of mobility, particularly in coordination with the naval forces. There are heavy infantry and cavalry forces present in Freishann but they are mostly limited to Noble or Royal creates for that purpose and not the general mold.
Particularly the Nobles are known for their elite infantry and light cavalry focus, particularly in control and dominance of their more spread lands, while the Royalty has the Royal Legion who are heavy infantry used to great effect. The forces of the Mayoral Dynasts and the broader forces of the Nobles make up the large portion of Medium Infantry in Freishann armies, a ranged component is generally present although it varies by leader how much of their forces they make up. The general population is actually fairly well armed in some areas, notably the borders, which means that some nobles have to be more careful than others.
Freishann focuses primarily on land warfare, using naval forces and dominance to give mobility and turning naval battles into land battles are what they pride themselves with. This has developed into a portion of the Royal Legion being dedicated marines, trained and equipped to be an elite group within the Legion itself.
Coming soon!
The Royal Legion of Freishann is effectively a small standing army, comprised almost entirely of Field units as garrison would eat up most of their numbers, however they are very well trained. Essentially a fairly heavily armored force of pikemen, heavily disciplined and trained in addition to their equipment they are the shock troops of Freishann.
Primarily organized into squares of a hundred men the Legion focuses on mobility and aggressive action in battle relying upon their weapons, armor and tactics to defeat their enemies quickly and in complete. Primarily the Legion will focus on using these squares to achieve local superiority and punch through an enemy line and continue until routing their in force in which the small amount of Freishannese cavalry, primarily of the light variety, can chase. In addition to being heavily trained to be prepared to be assaulted from different directions, particularly stop[ping and displaying pikes in any offending directions, or rapidly changing the facing, much easier than other pike formations due to the square rather than rectangular nature of their formation.
In addition to their pikes the Legionnaires are equipped with with a sword, and trained in proper use sufficient for the battlefield, helmets, cuirass and jacket. This is somewhat expensive however off set to a degree due to the large amount of sons and daughters of Nobles in the Legion as well as the children of wealthy merchants and merchant lords.
The Vuori Militia is an all volunteer, paid local force from the Vuor semi-autonomy, particularly it is almost all a garrison force although they are well trained as they stand against Vuori nobles, Tsunatontu raiders or other forces against the Council. The Militia is the only year round trained military force of great importance in Freishann besides the Legion and any retinues of nobles or the like.
The Vuori militia is primarily made up of drow or drow-humans straight humans are relatively rare but they appear in the ranks occasionally. Additionally there is no central command of the Militia except for a temporary position chosen by the council, this has been vacant for a while. Most of the militia is funded by the Vuori themselves although the Royal government does supply some funds, although that is mostly for the fortifications. Most of the Militia have to buy their own equipment although this is normally sold to them by affiliated blacksmiths or loaned from the armories of the Militia from old equipment. Spears are very common for new recruits although many who stay for years pick up many other weapons as well, swords are reserved for officers. A small cavalry force makes up most of the Militia field trained forces, although against any determined invader they can do little but raid and scout due to their numbers, their locality does give them some advantages on that front.
The Levies of Freishann are rather diverse in particular. As standard there are a large amount of of spear and polearm armed troops, although the latter are rarer and generally more skilled, usually formatted into schiltrons. Aside from this however a large amount of the populace takes some form of archery as their commitment to arms, warbows are somewhat more common in Freishann that otherwise although the majority do not maintain the complete ability to use full warbows meaning that they may be less effective than a dedicated archery force simply due to the physical requirements of warbows as most would be much more accustomed to the less strenuous hunting bows.
In various regions equipment differs slightly, the west and east tend to have better armor at their easy disposal although for differing reasons but the central lands and the south tend more heavy to archery due to the greater amount of accessible wilderness to most of the general population.
Coming soon!
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Heroes
Powerful magic user and friend of the Prince, Laoithr is an ambitious Magus noted for his unusual power, likely do to his heritage as a descendant of two powerful Freishannese Magus lines. He was born with a limp that has been strangely resistant to any attempts at healing. He is not particularly liked by most of the other Magus due to his meteoric rise, something many attribute to Royal connections.
More Coming soon!
Only male offspring of the High King and Queen, Belzaren is the Crown prince and a weak magus, holding the title of Magus Second with little hope of increasing in rank. As well he is a friend to the Honorable magus Laoithr, Belzaren being a few years younger than the more accomplished Magus.
More Coming soon!
Powerful countess in the East, lands hold down and supply a fort that guards a pass through the mountain to the broader territories of Fresihann. Known for intense hatred of the Khandarai, capable leader and rallying point for Eastern leaders.
More Coming soon!
Daughter of a reviled Warlock, Marsdana is a Witch in the general sense but is still in Druidic care. She believes in the old faith although she is determined to do some good in the world, wants to make up for sins of the father. Assisted greatly by Druidic groups and covens throughout Freishann.
More Coming soon!
History
The High Kingdom was founded around 50 EoH when the King of the Faens, Eldaernth Beiphumírt, gathered his armies and swept west seizing control of what would become Freishann. His descendants would found the High Kingdom and the feudal system which for most of its history defined it. It was then that the second High King conquered the Amarites and established ‘relations’, mostly hostile to the Atharian Kingdom. The First Dynasty was named by historical record as while they were all of the same family, at the time clan names and ties predominated which at the time caused a sense of a shift in the Royal Family. The First Dynasty had a trend of exhausting most of its members in constant wars, the last High King of the First Dynasty died with his three sons and brother on a campaign a mere 50 years after the First High King.
The resultant power vacuum was seized by a Merchant lord who had managed to consolidate the Western trading ports, that would later become cities, and became the next High King, marrying the daughter of the Last one to cement his claim, especially in the East and South. This Second dynasty would promote the growth of cities and attempt to maintain control over the broader borders of the High Kingdom but largely failed in this second task. Nearing the end of the Dynasty attempts were made to regulate trade and distance the Royal Family from Western mercantile interests. This backfired spectacularly in a standoff between Royal Forces and Western Forces in a civil war, most of the Nobles remaining as neutral as possible given the Dynasty’s previous uncaring stance on their issues.
Missionaries of Argentism came during this time taking advantage of the chaos to avoid the rather strict Ban on foreign religion proselytization and made their way East and eventually South. While discount was brewing, both from the ongoing civil war and religious upheaval a Noble from the South revolted declared herself High Queen and a worshipper of the Prophetess, the ‘Aspect of Divine Will’, and marched to the east calling upon believers and faithful to the crown to support her. This largely succeeded attracting an army and taking the city of Eldaeburg, renaming it Asyhaven, after herself. She ends up sweeping the rest of Freishann, some account it mostly due to the exhaustion of her enemies by the previous years of civil war, that does not stop her and many Freishannese believers from attributing it to the Prophetess’ Blessing. This Establishes Argentism as the religion of Freishann, driving the previous old faith of the Druids underground and into the far rural areas. Freishann became an Argentist nation around eighty years after the rise of the Prophetess.
The Third Dynasty, the current one, has established many Royal institutions in Freishann, from expanding the Royal Guards into a small Standing army, the Royal Legion, to the Collegiums for magic and learning throughout Freishann, and the establishment and expansion of the Royal Freishann Navy. In the past few decades, Naval expansion has gone by at an incredible rate, seemingly as though the increased conflicts with the Kingdom of Atharia has spurned the Royal Family into action to protect the Freishannese merchant marine. Despite the many border wars with Atharia and the raids and counter-raids against the Khandarai, or perhaps because of those conflicts Freishann has been seeking to become increasingly less insular in the recent years. More attribute this to the influence of Magus Káhesh Carmyar, also High Queen of Freishann, who studied as a scholar before marrying the Crown Prince, some eloping may have been involved.
Relations
A minor enemy but more of a rival is the Kingdom of Atharia, control over the temperate regions west of the Spine of the East have always been contested often but the last few decades have seen a rapid increase in the number of skirmishes and limited wars between the two Kingdoms. Although nothing unresolvable through negotiation has occurred, escalation has not been altogether prevented. It is only fear of the Eastern threat that has kept the conditions such a slow and consistent simmering conflict. Right now one of the many skirmishes has once more erupted into a limited border war.
For the Freishannese raiding is a fact of life. Whether on the constant border wars in the South, or the conflicts with Eastern desert peoples. Of the Eastern Deserts, raids and counter-raids are especially common, although full-blown conflict is strongly limited by geography that has not eased the viciousness of conflict for border Freishannese. Although in some parts trade still occurs with desert tribes, or even Westerners trading with the main port city, although that has caused tensions with Freishann.
Characters
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Overview
The Kingdom of Atharia is a Feudal Argentist land that often has rivalries with its neighbors, primarily over various disputes on the ownership of certain territories. Highly prized for its knight culture and extensive population of knights, Atharia generally has been a strong if somewhat fractious Kingdom no doubt in part because of the previous fact.
In current times Atharia has built of a more sizeable supporting force of common infantry and a relatively strong navy, although they are somewhat overshadowed by other powers in the region in naval regards. The Human population of Atharia was in the past fractured into petty Kingdoms and cultures although they have generally been absorbed into the greater Atharia culture in current times.
History
Atharia proper as a unified Kingdom began far in the past when the Primordials still reigned over [continent here]. Actually having descended from a Kingdom formed by a Primordial from the far Lynnde Empire, Atharia has often had conflicts with the surrounding petty Kingdoms. A new reign of slow expansion, mostly peaceful although some land was integrated into the Kingdom proper by conquests, came about after the absence of Primordial beings.
Atharia would continue to slowly integrate and vassalize the surrounding petty Kings for centuries yet. Very dependent on strong Kings as formed from a governance centered on a Primordial the actual power of Atharia has varied widely throughout the ages. Falling back onto Feudal arrangements from the lack of such a powerful being as leader, Atharia has had troubles expanding as such arrangements threatened to consume it some centuries past due to the level of in-fighting.
This changed with the rise of the High Kingdom of Freishann, also at the time a Feudal-like structure. Freishann created an external enemy for Atharia to focus against. Particularly during the first Dynasty of Freishann in which Frequently warred with Atharia. Initially this was quite successful for Freishann, overrunning the poorly integrated and defended Northern Atharia, what is now mostly part of Freishann. However subsequent wars went significantly less decisive as Freishannese invasions were stopped by a combination of force from Atharian cavalry and fortification while Atharian counter attacks were thwarted by terrain and fanatic resistance.
These wars caused the eventual deaths of the First Dynasty of Freishann with the Second dynasty being significantly less confrontational, setting a relationship that would vary between rivalry and guarded neutrality for the centuries to come. Atharia and Freishann would have periods of renewed hostility but they were mostly related to border wars and incidents. With the arrival of the Emerald Empire on the scene Atharia has greatly increased their naval power although they lag somewhat behind nations that focused on those prospects sooner. In practice Atharia has attempted to compete with the Emerald Empire and Freishann, particularly in the taking of Eastern Islands to attempt a further improvement of trade through Atharian ports.
In recent times Atharia has had increased hostilities over border territories with Freishann, getting into many minor skirmishes and such over the western territories in particular. Not all of them have had decisive victors but enough to create some border movement over the last thirty to twenty years.
Military
The Atharia military is divided into several fields. First is that of the Army, subsequently divided between royal forces, vassals of the crown and mercenaries. Royal forces and vassals are in large part levied militia, they have some form of training in either ranged weaponry such as longbows or melee troops such as men armed with billhooks or another similar weapon. In addition there are the more formally trained numbers of men either as supporting cavalry as men-at-arms, these being lowborn troops well trained and equipped. In addition to men-at-arms there is a large Knight population trained extensively as heavy cavalry but also in many other weapons, more often than not considering their foes they will have to fight dismounted in one situation or another.
Atharia mercenaries tend to follow the same general rules as the armies of Atharia at large, it is likely to see some groups solely as a well armed cavalry force while others focus on providing a large number of decent billmen. While mercenaries do not overtake the Atharia system of governance they are important particularly due to their Northern neighbor’s discouragement of their operations there.
Second is that of the Royal Navy of Atharia, while quite a new creation is steadily becoming a force to be respected and feared. Built up in response to Freishannese naval expansion and Emerald involvement in the area, the navy mostly has recruited from fishing ship and merchant ship crews and other civilian sailing operations. As because of this lack of a strong naval tradition to maintain discipline and order many of the measures of punishment are unusually draconian in nature. This has led to a somewhat underperforming recruitment drive and so impressment is the usual way or ‘recruiting’ for most Atharian sailors.
Society and Culture
Atharia modern society is still very Feudal, much more so than Freishann, who has for the most part moved away from the system. Atharia is divided into several classes, at the top is the King and subsequently priests and noblemen, below that are various Freemen, crafters, merchants, free farmers and the general like. Below them is the peasantry, while not technically bound to the land like serfs they are still effectively kept there by economic means.
Atharian high society is very militarized as a focus from the nobility on Knighthood and subsequent codes of conduct. Other portions of society are less so although it does have an impact on social currents, creating a system wherein most soldiers are respected as well as or better than some Freemen. Men-at-arms are almost exclusively drawn from the Free class of people, putting them at the top of that class by and large. While other more levied soldiers are generally viewed as somewhere between Free people and the peasantry.
Relations
Semi-Hostile/Rival relations with Freishann, due to recent periods of conflict and limited warfare over various territories along their shared border. Significantly increased by the Emerald Empire’s presence and positive relations with Freishann.
Semi-Hostile/Rival relations with the Emerald Empire, both in Atharian attempts to dominate trade around the western edge of the continent but also in disputes over the ownership of several islands to the East of Atharia proper.
Cold and distant relations between Olira and Atharia in recent times do to Olira’s friendships with the Emerald Empire and the Freishannese. Relations are ascribed to be “like a teenage girl and her dad who just doesn't get it”. Which is which is left open to interpretation.
Olira is made of up 11 small kingdoms on 6 islands who act as a vassal to one larger central kingdom, Talnoc, the King of Talnoc also bearing the title of High King of Olira. The throne of Talnoc is passed down from father to son, the Ardri dynasty ruling from their capital of Rilik. The other kingdoms have varying levels of autonomy. The current king of Talnoc is High King Had.
Geography
Olira has a varied climate and terrain, from the lush forests and palms of Khasibuil to the green hills of Talnoc, from the sandy beaches of Sahil to the rocky beaches of the Seobaghs. Olira is made up of six islands; the Seobaghs (Deach, Anaghyr, Easif, and Janeas), Khasibuil, and the main island of Kamor. Khasibuil and Kamor and separated by the mighty Ulain river, on which lies Rilik, the capital and by far the largest city in Olira. Other major cities include the southern seaport of Minhu (though Rilik still functions as a port) and the Formorian capital of Malakh.
Culture
Descendants of both the peoples of Freishann and Khandarai, the humans of Olira are a mixture of ethnicity and culture which take from both lands, these ethnic divisions forming the basis of the kingdoms. Gabhar and Sahil are primarily descended from Khandarai, with the people of Gabhar known for their shepherding and those of Sahil known for sailing. The Seobaghs, Rokai, Trabahr, and Adhmadh are primarily of Freishannese descent, respectively known as fishermen, Karkadanh riders, a mixture of fishermen and shepherds, and woodsmen. Laghad, Sciadire, Khasibuil, Talnoc, and the humans of Shasur are a mixture of both, with Laghad being known for its clergy and cathedrals, as well as being home to the Order of Laghad, a Serenist missionary group. Sciadire is home of many human warriors, but is economically stalled. Khasibuil is extremely fertile, exporting dates, figs, olives, and many other agricultural goods. Talnoc being by far the largest kingdom has a very mixed economy, while Shasur is an industrial hub, with mines dotting its landscapes and blacksmiths filling its towns. Sheepherding something that all the groups of Olirians have in common to some degree, which is why the ram is the symbol of Olira.
Formor is home to the Formorrin; Grogars originally from Tarkima who migrated to Olira two and a half centuries ago. Formor is the most impoverished kingdom in Olira, largely due to the economic influence of the Serenist Church, which is absent from Formor. It's also to do with an Olirian mistrust of Formorians, populations of whom are prevalent all over Olira and are often discriminated against. Shasur is home to a significant Formorian population, but Formorians are completely segregated, being forced to live in separate parts of towns and cities, while Sciadire has specific laws preventing Formorians from even living there. Significant Formorian populations have also found their way to Talnoc (especially Rilik), where despite a lack of actual discriminatory laws, Formorians still often live in poverty and crime, the Seobaghs and Sahil, where due to their historic maritime prowess Formorians are actually often welcomed, Formorian sailors making up a significant proportion of the pirates and privateers of Sahil. Only in the Seobaghs do Formorians live side by side with humans without poverty or poor reputation. Even lower in society than the Formorians are the children of humans and Formorians, who, with no real place, often resort to crime, banditry, piratry, and mercenary work.
Existing in Olira since before the arrival of humans, the Yara Ma are an indigenous people in Olira who live in the remotest regions, especially on the island of Anaghyr. Yara Ma often disappear as humans populate a region, relying on a balanced ecosystem, and even if they do not disappear, they have, in the past, been exterminated, due to their consumption of human livestock. Not much is currently known about Yara Ma society, as the only place where Yara live freely without hinderence, the island of Anaghyr, is also extremely hostile to outsiders, often killing them onsite. While the vast majority of Yara Ma encountered are male, females do exist, as do infants. Yara Ma do not fight with weapons, aside from rocks which they throw with a strange expertise, instead relying on magic and their disproportate strength for their small bodies. Yara Ma are arboreal, spending most of their lives in trees, and are thought to be carnivorous. They also have octopus-like suction on their hands, and can easily crush a human throat, which tends to be their preferred method of execution.
Military
It is the responsibility of each vassal kingdom to create their own armies, though the High King's army will protect its vassals if attacked by an outside force. Vassal kingdoms are also allowed to go to war with each other, and small conflicts occur often. Conquests, however, are rare, the last one taking place twenty years ago. Standing armies do not exist in Olira, and instead, Kings rely on various methods to raise armies when the occasion arises.
Qurns are Olirian hunters who are recruited into a Kingdom's armies as light infantry, skirmishers, scouts, and raiders or simply just to hunt for the army's food during a campaign. Qurns carry ranged weapons such as bows, javelins, and darts, as well as a melee weapon, weather it be a dagger, an axe, a sword, or a sqian; a long, traditional knife in Olira. Qurns can also be recruited from bandits, with Kings sometimes offering amnesty to Qurns who join their army.
The backbone of a poor king's army, when a king needs to fill the ranks of his army, he simply enlists them from his peasantry. With each kingdom having a different structure in administration, the costs and effectiveness of the levy vary from kingdom to kingdom, with the more feudal kingdoms being able to create much larger levys at a much cheaper costs. Levys tend to be armed very simply and utilize their "strength in numbers" mentality. Levy troops are either armed with spears and shields or with bows and arrows, to be fired en masse towards the enemy army.
Taisafirin are the true symbol of Olirian warfare. Mercenaries, Taisafirin learn war as a profession, and wield heavy weapons such as greatswords and battleaxes, in addition to simple sword and shield combos, and wear heavy armor. They don't work year-round (in most cases); instead, in times of war, mercenary captains will be hired to go from town to town recruiting Taisafirin, who can also be employed for small-scale conflicts, brawls, and guard duties. Some are employed year-round to act as bodyguards, and most retire as they age, usually using their money from adventuring and fighting to buy a homestead. Many Taisafirin are Formorian or half Formorian, and even some human Taisafirin use Formorian weapons.
Horses never really caught on in Olira. That's because of the Karkadanh; carnivorous unicorns native to Olira. While Karkadanhs are used by civilians as both guard dogs and pack animals, they also compose the entirety of Olirian cavalry. Though Karkadanhs are much faster and far more dangerous than horses, their backs aren't quite as strong, and require much more skilled rider. That's why outside of Rokai, though Karkadanh riders are used, they never quite make or break a battle. In Rokai, however, Karkadanhs are an emblem of war, with riding societies exist around the kingdom.
While mages are used in combat in Olira, only healers are recruited by Kings, combat mages being far too expensive. Instead, most mages who end up on a battlefield are volunteers. The Serene Church will also sometimes send deacons to fight if an enemy strays too far from order.
Founded by Gultar the Stick around 35 years ago, The Black Band is made up of perhaps the most elite Taisafarin in Olira. Based out of Svawad Castle in Talnoc, the Black Band, unlike most groups of Taisafarin, exist year round, and can be marked by their black banner. The Black Band is made up of a couple thousand, with new applicants piling up around Svawad everyday, although hardly any making it in. What makes the Black Band so effective as a force is not only the skill of the individual mercenaries, but the cohesiveness and solidarity of the units, this being a major part of Black Band training. Aside from acting on a battlefield, the Black Band can also be contracted to destroy bandits, act as bodyguards, train forces, recruit groups of Taisafarin, kill dangerous wildlife, and advise generals.
Heroes
The head of the Black Band, Gultar has a taste for war, and has boiled down battle to a primary sense. For the first few years of the Black Band, Gultar lived in squalor, all of his money going to paying for his men, his only payment being in food. His big break came 20 years ago. For years, Laghad had been paying Rokai for protection, but the King of Laghad, a notorious gambler, was short on money. Sahil took advantage of this, and launched a full scale invasion, seeking to conquer Laghad, and cornering the King into his castle, besieging it. All seemed lost, when Gultar snuck into the castle and offered his aid in exchange for monetary compensation. The King of Laghad agreed, giving him the last of his funds, and miraculously, Gultar and the Black Band broke the siege, crushing the Sahili forces. Gultar and the Black Band became famous around Olira, and the construction of Svawad Castle began, with new applicants, funds and resources. The fame of the Black Band reached international levels eight years ago during the war between Olira and Freishann, when Gultar took charge of the Olirian forces and destroyed the Freishannese army. Gultar uses a variety of weapons in combat, but usually relies on a simple arming sword.
Sailor, privateer, and captain of the Liba, Captain Bahar is a well known seaman who first rose to prominence in the conflict against Freishann. A young captain of only 20 at the time, not only was he an effective privateer against Freishann immediately before the war, but his was the only ship that managed to break past Freishann's royal navy at the Battle of Minhu, and he personally opened the gate for the Olirian forces to enter the city. Now, he still works as a privateer, but performs less shady work, and has a much higher price. He can usually be found with his Formorian first mate in Minhu, and prefers to fight with a scian.
Having fought in almost every conflict in Olira for the last few decades, Albas began his experience fighting as a Qurn, but soon became more of a Taisafir, fighting in the capacity of a mercenary tied to no land. For many years, he served at the Gate of Y'vraine, and was offered a position in the Olirian Guard, but refused. He also utilizes magic when he can, though is certainly not an expert. He prefers to fight with a longsword and bow.
Born to a poor farming family in Talnoc, Nadurtha from a young age felt nothing like the other girls in her village, and only felt kinship with her brother, a Taisafir, who taught her how to fight. Ten years ago, when there was a call for privateers to fight Freishann, she felt a call to action, and, stealing a Karkadanh from her village, she took on the guise of a man, Nadur, and went to the sea. She joined up with the Liba, headed by the charismatic young captain, Bahar. She rose to be his first mate, and, after Bahar discovered she was a woman, the two became lovers in secrecy. After the Liba became the most distinguished ship in the war, Bahar was offered to be the High King's admiral as he revamped the navy. Bahar turned it down, but when it was offered to Nadurtha, or more to Nadur, she/he took it, leaving the Liba to Rilik. A couple years into being the admiral, Nadurtha's rival uncovered that she was a woman, and as they attempted to blackmail her, she decided instead to reveal her identity to the High King and the public. While this caused a great controversy, she was not demoted.
History
It's not quite known when humans arrived in Olira, but the displacement of the Yara Ma began almost immediately. As the human migrants to Olira began to settle, different ethnic groups began to form, which formed into clans, which formed into small kingdoms, who remained isolated, warring against each other for hundreds of years. The world of the early Olirians was shook 250 years ago, when Grogar supremecists from Tarkima, seeking to form a true Grogar homeland, invaded Olira, and thus began half a century of war. Eventually, the different kingdoms began allying each other to form larger ones, when two families from two large central kingdoms married to form the Ardri dynasty and the Kingdom of Talnoc. Talnoc sought support from the Serene Church, who sent them funds, and soon the other kingdoms bowed down to Talnoc to lead them, thus creating the title of High King of Olira. Talnoc soon drove the Formorians, or 'Outlanders' back to the seat of their invasion, planning to force them from Olira for good, when the King of the Formorians also swore loyalty to Talnoc, thus ending the war, and bringing Formor into the fold of Olira.
After the Great War, the country began to modernize rapidly with both the unified government and the new support of the Serene Church. Meanwhile, the old prophets who guided to Formorians to Olira clung tightly to their traditions, forming the Grogar Circle to lead the Formorians religiously. While Talnoc remained in peace amongst the island kingdoms, the other kingdoms still waged wars against each other, though those diminished with time and increased adhearance to the Serene Church.
After the war between Laghad and Sahil twenty years ago, the King of Laghad became extremely religious, building a new cathedral and founding the Order of Laghad, a missionary group. These missionaries soon began preaching in Freishann, and gained much support in one coastal city. After riots ensued, some of the missionaries were executed, the rest imprisoned, and a privateer war was waged against Freishannese shipping. Freishann, who's military was thought to be vastly superior to Olira, invaded, and while the navy saw success, their army was crushed by the new strength of the Black Band. After this war, Olira began modernizing their navy, and was brought in as an associate to Freishann and the Emerald Empire's trade league.
Relations
Serene Kingdoms: Devout in Serenity, Olira maintains ties, economically and militarily, with the Serenist States. Freishann: Though the two went to war eight years ago, relations have since cooled, and are actually somewhat close, with Olira now being an associate of Freishann's trade league, Freishann helping to modernize the Olirian navy, and the Black Band assisting the militaries of some parts of Freishann. Emerald Empire: The Emerald Empire being a trade partner that Olira had long craved for, victory in the Freishannese war allowed a dream to come true. Currenlty, Olira is in talks with the Emerald Empire to sell the island of Anaghyr.
Government The Republic of Vangren is a democratic republic only in name. The official head of state is the Consul, a man elected from within the members of the High Senate. The High Senate itself is composed primarily of members of the nobility or wealthy merchant families. It is extremely difficult to achieve a membership of the High Senate, as it requires a large sum of money paid to the treasury of the Republic, as well as support from current members of the Senate or other influential figures within Vangrenian society. Every now and then, a figure supported by the general public is allowed within the High Senate, if only to maintain the illusion of a democracy and prevent public unrest. Unfortunately, these “men of the people”, who are chosen due to their charisma and ability to lead, are rarely listened to or gain much support within the Senate. In all intents and purposes, Vangren is truly an aristocratic oligarchy masquerading as a republic.
The Consul is an individual elected from within the High Senate to serve as the official leader of the Republic for life. While the Consul is simply meant to guide the nation and serve as a public figure, they effectively rule as an absolute monarch in all but name. The High Senate, whose positions are practically hereditary, have a certain amount of power in order to check that of the Consul, yet this is rarely used, as the Consul usually maintains support of the Senate majority either through bribery, threats or other means of intrigue. While officially the Consul is not allowed to declare without the permission of the High Senate, the Consul is still able to do so. Not that he has, as Vangren has not seen war since its establishment as a Republic half a century prior.
The Republic is divided into six different provinces, called Freeholds. Each Freehold is ruled over by a smaller version of the national government with a Low Senate headed by a Proconsul. Their job is to oversee the local governance of the Freehold, such as taxes or local laws. The Low Senate is not as thoroughly controlled as the High Senate is, aiding in the mirage of the Republic truly being a democracy. Any man determined to make a difference in the governance of their home can run for a position on the Senate, even those of humble backgrounds such as a lowly farmer or cobbler. However, that is not to say that the Low Senate is entirely incorrupt. Local merchant guilds maintain a large control over the elections to the Low Senate, usually backing men that they can easily control and use as puppets to ensure that their interests are best expressed in the governance of the Freehold.
Geography The Republic of Vangren is divided into a number of different provinces called Freeholds, each of which having various climates. To the south and west, the Freeholds of Halstom and Kelek bordering the Heavenly Sphere and the Empire of Khandarai are mountainous and largely infertile. However, they are prosperous due to the large number of mining operations conducted within the mountain range. As a result of the large amount of mining, both Freeholds are home to a plethora of wealthy merchant families competing with each other. To the east, the Freehold of Retrand dominates the coast. This Freehold is also dominated by merchant families, most of whom recently became nobles during the course of the Great Revolution, due to the many coastal ports within the Freehold that oversee trade across the gulf and even beyond. Here, the climate is warm, like that of the Mediterranean region in our own world. It is also within the Freehold of Retrand that the nation is set at the port city of Tilum, the site of the beginning of the Great Revolution. As well as being a center of trade, Retrand is a place of learning, with a variety of academies and universities being founded throughout. It is from these institutions of higher learning that many grand new innovations and inventions are created, especially as the Republic struggles to compete with the scholarly abilities of the Heavenly Sphere.
Finally, the interior and north of the Republic forms the breadbasket of the nation. The Freeholds Rednar, Helevia and Galend contain rich and fertile soil, the result of the great rivers that run through them from the mountain ranges to both the south and north. These Freeholds are also the center of the Republic’s nobility, as it was here that the old feudal society of Vangren had centered its power.
Culture Vangren, even before it became a Republic, has been a very mercantile-focused nation. It’s position both at the center of Askor and its access to two different seas has caused it to become a prominent trading power. As a result, wealth reigns supreme in Vangren and merchants and their families wield a considerable amount of influence and power. In fact, many of the noble families of Vangren overlap with those of merchants, such as the House of Halvum maintaining a vast control over the mines in the southern mountains of Vangren. The nobility and merchants of Vangren, especially those who form the High Senate, live lives of luxury and splendor. They make residences in great estates in the country or fine townhouses along the sea. They enjoy great feasts nearly daily and lack for nothing. They are meant to be shining examples of how through hard work and determination one is able to achieve wealth and success, even though very few of them have ever worked a day in their life.
Merchant guilds are common throughout the Republic, a collection of merchants who have banded together as allies in hopes of creating a greater profit. While the local politics of the Freeholds are meant to be controlled through the public, it is the merchant guilds that influence the most power.
Unfortunately for the large majority of the Republic’s population, they do not live as luxurious lives as the more influential members of society. These men are the farmers, sailors, craftsmen and small businessmen who produce the most for the Republics yet reap few of the boons. Even though they are led to believe that they play a role in how they are ruled, they are as subject and powerless as they were under the rule of the old Vangrenian Kings. Many are so poor they are forced to live as serfs on the large stretches of farmland belonging to the aristocracy or serve as indentured servants to wealthy merchants. While some truly believe they are better of now then they were under the monarchy and place their faith in the Proconsul and High Senate, others believe that the Republic is a farce and yet further action must be taken in order to ensure that each man has the right to control their own destiny.
Military The bulk of the Republic’s land-based military is infantry-based. The Vangrenian Guard is the center-piece of the Republic’s military, as it consists of soldiers serving full-time, having gone through thorough and extensive training. While the Vangrenien Guard can not claim to be Askor’s finest swordsmen, they are well-trained and disciplined. Every able man between the ages of 16 and 30 are required to serve at least three years within the Guard, unless they are able to pay a fee to avoid conscripted. The Guard’s weapons of choice are a combination of halberds and short-swords. The nobility makes up the large portion of the Republic’s cavalry. While not the heroic knights of Lynnfaire, they serve as both heavy and light cavalry, depending on the wealth and expertise of the noble house providing troops. The rest of the Vangrenian military is formed by a levee of able-bodied men who are not currently serving within the Guard. The true pride and power of the Vangrenian military lies in its navy, however. As a nation that survives on its trading ability, especially that of its sea-faring trade, it is not surprising that the Republic has produced some of Askor’s finest sailors. Their ships are some of the swiftest and strongest, using both sailing and rowing methods to maximize their ability to maneuver. The Vangrenian Marines are also something to be feared. With a detachment of Marines stationed on every military vessel, they are masters of both ship-to-ship and land combat, and are especially effective in raids and hit-and-run attacks. While the navy is currently simply used to patrol Vangrenian waters and protect the shipping routes of merchants, it can easily swell is size and power in order to defend against any threats or attack any potential enemies of the Republic.
Heroes TBD
History Vangren as a Republic is a youthful nation, having been born in the aftermath of the Great Revolution fifty years prior to current events. As nation, however, it is ancient. Having been founded during the dawn of the Era of Legends, Vangren had always been a monarchy, the kings being descended from the original children of the Primordials and thus possessing great magical abilities. However, as the centuries passed, the blood of the Primordials began to wane within the royal line, especially as foreign marriages were arranged, and members of the family died unexpectedly, leading to distant members of the royal family inheriting the throne. All the while, as the divine right of the Primordials began to disappear, the Vangrenian kings grew more and more cruel. They would raise taxes to back-breaking sums and imprison or even execute those who were unable to pay. Soldiers would be stationed throughout the nation to enforce the taxes, acting more like foreign occupiers than their own military. Soldiers would often rape citizens of the towns they were stationed in or hang those who spoke out against their presence. The oppression of the monarchy only worsened upon the coming and eventual murder of the Prophetess. When she called men to her banner, many of Vangren’s young traveled to join her Silver Legion. When news of her cruel execution and the murder of the Legion, including many of their own, much of the populace of Vangren, especially the common folk, converted to Argentianism. However, the king adamantly refused to recognize her as a religious entity and thus began persecuting those who preached in her name. This only added to the great civil strife that grew rampant throughout Vangren, though it would still take many years before action was taken.
Eventually, a young sailor from the city of Tilum rose to action. After returning from a long voyage on a trading ship, he returned to find his lover raped and murdered. Furious, the man gathered friends and like-minded individuals and began to fight back against the oppressive military presence. At first, their actions were simply guerilla tactics, such as ambushing small patrols, stealing provisions or raiding unsuspecting outposts. Yet as they grew in infamy and gathered more and more people, they began to act out more and more. Eventually, they were even able to drive the forces loyal to the Vangrenian king out of Tilum. Upon doing so, the sailor declared that he intended to reform Vangren into a republic, one in which each man was equal and had the ability to determine their own destiny.
Not before long, though, the Vangrenian king amassed an army to punish the rebels of Tilum. Knowing there was little hope yet seeing no other action possible, the rebel leader and his forces gathered to face the army outside of the city, even though they were poorly armed and trained. The two sides met in battle, though the rebels soon began to show signs of breaking against the overwhelming power of the skilled soldiers loyal to the king. Yet just when all hope seemed lost, a new force charged the loyalists rear, swiftly routing them and winning the day.
After the battle was finished, it was revealed that the rebel’s saviors turned out to be a number of nobles who had become disillusioned under the tyrannical reign of the king and so had decided to aid the rebels in their plight. Thus, with the nobles wealth, manpower and skill, the Great Revolution was truly born. More and more flocked to their banner until the fires of war had spread across the entire Kingdom.
For five years the was viscously fought, as father faced son and brother battled brother. Slowly, yet ever so surely, the rebels pushed the loyalists back towards the capital, until it was the only remaining loyalist steadfast. It seemed that all was well for the rebels. Unfortunately, there had long been division within the rebel camp. The original leader of the revolution in Tilum and thus the de facto leader of the commoners and the leader of the noble faction had long butted heads against one another, causing friction among the rebels. During the course of the battle for the capital, the peasant leader was struck by a stray crossbow bolt and forced off the field of battle, leaving the noble lord in command of the army. In the course of the battle, the capital was sacked and utterly destroyed the city, killing and raping many of its citizens. The entire royal family was murdered, even the newborn son of the king.
When the commoner leader learnt of this, he was furious yet was unable to do much. With the revolution officially won, he turned his attention to reforming the government into what he hoped would see equality for all men. It was he who drafted the plans for a High and Low Senate. However, he was resisted by many nobles, who believed that they deserved many seats in the High Senate for their participation in the revolution. The sailor from Tilum turned revolutionary leader sought to oppose them as best he could, yet the conflict between the two factions began to escalate to physical violence until one day he was ambushed and stabbed to death by a number of assailants. The leader of the nobles declared that he had been killed by a group of loyalists seeking to avenge the death of the former king, as he knew that his rival was celebrated as a hero throughout Vangren. However, a number of the sailor’s supporters doubted the truth to this and continued their opposition, until one by one, they two were mysteriously murdered.
His opposition diminished to nigh on nonexistence, the noble leader created the legal system of the Republic as it is today, establishing himself as Proconsul. He has long since died himself, yet he has been replaced by a number of Proconsuls just as eager to ensure their absolute control and supported by a High Senate intent on maintaining their oligarchic control over society that they had been unable to have under a monarchy. Yet somewhere out there, in the shadows of cities and the hearts of common men, there are the old supporters of the simple sailor who lighted the sparks of a revolution, those that will fight to see his dream of a land where all men were equal become a reality.
Relations The Republic is on fairly good terms with its neighbors, since it focuses more on trade than expansion. However, the recently elected Proconsul has been expressing some possible imperialistic tendencies…
Characters
A young yet capable man, Eleric is the grandson of the original Consul and head of the House of Taren, one of the most ancient and powerful noble houses in Vangren even before the foundation of the Republic. Only 28, Eleric is a determined individual who has set his eyes upon both living up to the legacy of his grandfather and establishing the Republic has a larger world-power. While he is Consul, this is largely due to large infighting among the High Senate rather than a large basis of support and so Eleric must establish himself as a leader and gain support among the Senate.
The commander of Vangren’s naval forces, Admiral Harken is an experienced and skilled leader and soldier. Unlike most other members of the Republic’s upper military positions, Harken comes from humble beginnings, a testament to his ability as an admiral. Harken was born not long after the creation of the Republic and so still holds many values of the Revolution at heart, something not many other Vangrenians still due.
At the young age of 35, Beric is one of the youngest soldiers to have ever taken command of the Vangrenian Marines. As a result, he has received the favor and respect of the new Consul, as he to fills a position expected of elder and more experienced men. Belric is a man of honor, holding the chivalric values close to his heart. He is also a man who values freedom above all else. As a result, he is often conflicted between his loyalty to the Proconsul and the Republic and his pressing realization that the Republic is a farce.
A blacksmith in a small town in the Freehold of Kelek, Ean would normally be a man of inconsequence. He plays no part in the governance of the Republic and has no hopes of ever being elected to the Low Senate of Kelek, let alone the High Senate. However, his claim to fame is that he is the leader of a local band of men who believe the Republic is as corrupt and tyrannical as the monarchy was and wish to see it as it was meant to be. While he has not taken open action as of yet, Ean comes closer and closer to doing so with each passing day beneath the boot of the Consul.
Each of the Clans of Tarkima are ruled by their respective Chieftains and their inner circle of lieutenants, the Chieftain's rule is absolute, their word and blade law. If the current-sitting Chieftain were to meet an unfortunate fate, the selection process of succession often is done so in two ways. If the Chieftain was slain in a duel of honor against his opponent, the challenger would then by right, become the new ruling chieftain. If the Chieftain was to die of natural causes, or slain in battle, the new ruling chieftain would then be decided in a grand fighting tournament, the best warriors of the Clan would gather to battle in fierce arena combat for the right to rule the Clan.
Geography
Plum(Ardir), Red(Fervari), Gray(Brakor), Blue(Minor Clans) The Lands of Tarkima while varied, they are rugged and harsh, ranging from cool, breezy plains and forests in the far north, green highlands, plains and rolling hills making up the central regions, the volcanic ashlands of Rothgul to the east, and the snow-covered, frigid mountainous regions that stretch across the southern border. These Mountains have been referred to by the Tarkimans as Jotanu's Gate, Followers of the Earth Primordial Lord revere it as his supposed magnum opus and those who lack respect for the mountains or are ill prepared will no doubt perish in the Gate's perilous jagged labyrinth. Jotanu's Gate has a quite obvious strategic purpose as well, forming a natural border wall between Tarkima and the rest of the Continent.
Culture
The many peoples of Tarkima are one of battle, honor, family, and for the select, pure savagery. Strength and skill above all else is highly valued to the People of Tarkima, with only the strongest of them all being able to lead the Clans or die. Religion in Tarkima centers around the worship of the mythical Primordials as Gods, several Primordial Lords and their Offspring once reigning over these savage lands. There also exists growing order that reveres the long dead Prophetess as a Divine Messenger of the Gods, a sentiment not too well shared to wider Tarkiman Society. When the Primordials had vanished from the face of Askor, it was said that the Gods had ascended into a higher plane of existence, out of the reach of their followers, the reason told by the many clergies that the Gods themselves saw fit to craft a new paradise for the devout, a life after death, a realm beyond the mortal world.
Mages are quite a uncommon sight in Tarkima, those found are declared Blessed, their bloodline tracing back to the Primodrial Lords. Mages found will find themselves in high positions in Tarkiman Society, either as members of the respective Priesthoods of the Gods, as specialized warriors in the warband, as close Advisors to the Chieftains, some Mages even become Chieftains themselves.
Crime is wide spread like in any other region, how it is handled in Tarkima is rather unorthodox. In determining one's innocence or guilt, the Tarkiman Clans will have the accused go through the Judgment, Trial by combat. The Accused will be made to fight the fiercest beasts or warriors that Tarkima has to offer, if they survive, their innocence is guaranteed if not, well they've met their brutal end. The Land of Tarkima is ruled by hundreds of Clans, but in actuality, the land is ruled by the three greatest of Clans, Ardir, Fervari and Brakor.
Grogar Males
Grogar Female
Military
With the exception of Ardir, the armies of the Tarkiman Clans are a rather disorganized rabble compared to the ordered and structured armies of more civilized kingdoms, the rank beyond Chieftain being meaningless. Tarkiman warriors of any race typically are organized into Warbands, said Warbands vastly differ depending on function, a Warband making up up a dozen or so warriors, to hundreds to thousands of warriors. Leaders of these Warbands are often hand-picked by the Chieftain himself or members of his Inner Circle.
Warbands of the Three Great Clans quite differ from one another, each Clan adopting their own style and tactics. The Fervari for one, are by far the most militaristic and Industrial of the Clans, favoring swarms of well-armored warriors and beasts, as well as employing the use of strange war machines churned out by the Foundries of Rothgul. Warriors of Brakor, while lacking the industrial might of the Fervari, make up for in numbers and savagery, the Clan of Brakor favoring hordes of swift, lightly, if crudely armored warriors and beasts, a typical trait of the more smaller clans.
Clan Ardir however, is a far different beast compared to the other two, the warriors of Clan Ardir, or the Kingdom of Tarkima as they've arrogantly refer to themselves, being a more ordered and disciplined lot compared to Brakor, Fervari, and numerous other clans, replicating more civilized military formations like their southern counterparts. Although despite this, old habits die hard, and as said, their formations, attitudes, and tactics are just that, mere replication, their barbaric tendencies flaring out in the form of their still crudely built weapons and armor, only a small core of their army being fitted with more finely crafted equipment befitting of a regal military force.
Fervari Warriors
Forgeborn
Berserkers
Clan Auxiliaries
Brakor Warriors
Berserkers
Shield Maidens
Oathsworn
Allied Auxiliaries
Ardir Soldier
Ardir Royal Guard
Dire Hound One of many beaats native to Tarkima, the Dire Hounds are a somewhat large canine species that, for most of recorded tarkiman history, have been seen as faithful companions to tarkimans of all walks of life, often serving as hunting beasts or as terror weapons, whole packs unleashed upon the enemy to rip and tear to shreds.
Troll Monstrous creatures of legend, Trolls once ruled the lands of Tarkima, numbering in many thousands, keeping the people in constant fear of a herds arrival, that is, before the Primordials arrived. Once the Primordial Kingdoms rose, the trolls had quickly found themselves no longer at the top of the food chain, and were subsequently subdued by their former prey. In the present day, trolls now number in the hundreds, many now enthralled by the clans as living siege engines.
Horse The most common beast to be found in all parts of the world, the mighty Horse is no exception in Tarkima, their role no doubt similar to their more civilized counterparts.
Heroes
Mornog the Horned Troll A wild, yet powerful troll that roams Tarkima and surrounding lands.
Undvich Krac Chieftain of Clan Fervari.
Firgus Holen Chieftain of Clan Brakor.
Rogi Gelen III Chieftain/King of Clan Ardir
History
Millennia ago, Tarkima was once a untamed and savage land, moreso then present day Tarkima. The peoples of the land were grouped into small tribes, struggling to survive a harsh land filled to the brim with monstrous beasts, invading armies from beyond the shores. However on one fateful day, Tarkima was blessed with the arrival of a group of Primordials, whom would later become revered as Gods to the Tarkimans.
The Primordials, with their vast power had managed to carve up their own little kingdoms within this ancient, it was a long lost Golden Age for Tarkima. The monstrous beasts that once roamed the land freely had fled, the Primordials blessing their new subjects with wondrous weapons and warmachines to hunt, would-be conquerors were chased from the shores as the Tarkimans became more organized under the guiding hand of the Primordials. For generations they ruled, some benevolently, others not so, however, these Divine beings had given the gift of civilization to this savage land. Unfortunately, after they had vanished from the world, their Children had remained to steward the lands in their stead, if only temporarily until they too would wither away, giving rise to a free Tarkima.
Upon the dawning of the Era of Heroes and onward to the present day, Tarkiman Civilization had quickly collapsed upon itself once the Primordials and their offspring had "Ascended". The old Kingdoms had broken asunder, Clans both large and small forming to fill in the void left by the Gods.
The Era of Heroes would be known to the Tarkimans as the Age of War. The next five centuries would be follow countless wars among the clans, invasions of neighboring kingdoms, and to some extent, exploration. Tarkiman Clans, seeing new bounties beyond their homeland would set off further south, claiming lands that would be of the Emerald Empire, their descendants having long since lost traces of their barbaric lineage. Others would dare to venture further, many to never return.
Kingdoms bordering Tarkima would feel the unending wrath of the Clans, wars, skirmishes and raids fought on and off throughout the centuries. However, as of a century before the present day, something would change. A hundred years before the present day, Missionaries from the Serene Kingdoms had landed on Tarkiman shores, at first, the neibhoring clans were hostile to the foreigners. Some even actively hunting them, however, one clan, Ardir, lent its ear to the missionaries, becoming aware of the Serene One for the first time, many among their ranks were angered by the blasphemous words of the Missionaries, the Chieftain among them. However, a small group of warriors were more open to the fact that their "Gods" were flawed beings, the missionaries point of view was made realized as they converted these renegades.
Eventually, the Renegades challenged the Old Guard, overthrowing the Chieftain and his warriors, the leader of the converted proclaiming himself the rightful king of Tarkima, choosing by the Serene One itself. Clan Ardir, for the last hundred years, launched a crusade to claim all of Tarkima for the Serene One.
All the while, other Clans made similar power plays, devouring small clans as they're territory grew larger and larger. Now the land if divided among the three great Clans, Ardir, Feverai and Brakor, only a portion of the land remaining free from the three clans, yet, the smaller clans of the region remain at their mercy.
Relations
Emerald Empire: For the past centuries since the Dawning of the Age of Heroes, the Kingdom of Shenra, followed by it's conquerors, the Emerald Empire, have been in a near constant state of war with the Tarkiman Clans, often fending off raiding parties and large warbands occasionally. In recent years however, Clan Brakor under their new Chieftain have taken a more profitable and less bloody approach to the Empire. In exchange for wealth and resources, Clan Brakor would put a cease to all hostilities, their warriors as well as having the choice of taking up Mercenary work within the Empire.
Clan Ardir, or the Tarkiman "Kingdom" are more cold towards the Empire due to their more heretical beliefs, however, they would not turn away from a potential trading partner, but remain distant. The many smaller Clans and the Fervari however reject any sort of peace, and continue their own raids upon the Empire.
Utyre: Like the Kingdom of Shrena, the land of Utyre has been among the preferred targets of the Clans, and in recent times, Clan Fervari is the chief opponent for Utyre, they and their vassal clans often launching incursions and raids in Utyren lands.
The Crossroads: The relationship between the Crossroads and bordering clans is that of a school of leech fish hunting slow prey, clans both large and small often venture off deep into these battle scarred lands, looting long abandoned weapons and pieces of armor, often for the purpose of melting down aforementioned loot and reforging them into more fitting gear, of course, such looting ventures do not go unpunished, and often are made a target of the Crossroads less then enthused inhabitants.
Characters
Gartnir Torbin A famed general of the "Kings" army. He, like many Grogar within Ardir lands are a far different breed to what is expected Grogar behavior, The General carries an air of civilized nobility, the barbarism breed out after generations of Serene Rule.
Morella Nurri A rather petite Drimor that serves as King Gelen's top assassin.
Tolaal Gelen Crown Prince of the "Kingdom" of Tarkima.
Olaf Tarin An aged Mage, eldest member of the Brakor Inner Circle and good longtime friend of the current Chieftain.
Asgorgh Gormk Chief War Master of Brakor's Warbands and trusted lieutenant to the Chieftain.
Urlid
Elina Holen Sole Daughter of the Current Chieftain and aspiring warrior.
Farald Hengus A recent, eager addition to the ranks of the Brakor Warbands and the betrothed of Elina.
The archipelago of Morkt is located in fiercely arctic waters. Amongst its steep fjords, the major portions of humanoid slaves cling to an existence in the form of wharf fishing villages. Deeper into the interior of these islands are bog lands that—through some twist of dark magic or geothermal runoff—stay temperately humid warmth. These swamps are the proving grounds for those whose blood can handle the guiles of magic. It is in these bogs that the plagues are forged.
The center island of the archipelago lays a massive volcano, known to be as fickle and violent as the merfolk who lie beneath. Due to its chronic billow, the island is covered in a misty cloud of soot. It is said that a great voyager returned here after traveling to the far East. Since that day the volcano has cracked back to life.
Government
To those on land, there is no secret of who commands the Morktish waters. The Mistress, high dictator of Morkt, rules with a looming noose just tight enough to feign the illusion of free will. In reality, all non-cecaelian inhabitants are slaves to the master race, the Morj, which lurks below the waters. Whether their collection was achieved by naturalized birth, or as acquired trinkets; they are bound to service of their mistress for life. Enchanted neck rings are fastened onto each humanoid subject after their initiation below the black waves. To ensure Her hold, shaman’s known as “plagues” are sent with any party of humanoids who leave the Morktish waters. These agents of the Mistress are fowl servants who poison not only the minds of their crew, but often those whose shores they land upon.
Beneath the icy tides, the lines of power blur. The seas are a dark and vast place with many whispers. Though the Mistress maintains control, her rule is a loose hegemony of various mobs with ever morphing allegiances and tolerances. These mercurial desires do unite on their hatred of land bound creatures, and the merciless use of such beasts to appease the personal, political, and religious ends of the Morj. The only such human swine to escape their grasps live high in the icy mountains trapped on all sides by swarms of loyal agents and tides of the sea… where still greater dangers lie.
Culture
The enslaved population of Morkt hails from all corners of the known globe and beyond. As such, their culture largely mirrors this melting pot boiled together over the furnace of their merfolk masters. The frigid conditions and almost total reliance on the sea for sustenance has bonded them into a quiet, no-nonsense people where trust is a rare but prized commodity. All religions except for strict Primordial worship are wholesale banned by the merfolk and enforced ruthlessly by their plague agents. It is further professed that the primordial seaborn offspring hold an infinitely higher status than their bastardized land dwelling ilk (who were little more than agents of the deep much like plagues).
The merfolk themselves gather in a loosely clan based structure and inhabit a labyrinth of caves and gothic crevice cities. They make sport of hunting creatures of the land and sea, frequently performing elaborate sacrifices to appease their primordial ancestors. Juxtaposed to this predatory, often barbaric, society is a taste for the finer things. The merfolk adore fine jewels and metals. They have a keen sense of fashion and aesthetically design their structures and tools to the point of obsession. They are inherently elitist and though they can survive on the surface for hours, the thought of such depravity often disgusts them. The only reason they tolerate the enslaved land dwellers is their pension for looting treasures, capturing more live offerings, and filling their nets with fish. However, were the Mistress not so fond of them, they might endure a much mixed fate.
Military
The humanoid arm of the Morkt exists almost solely as fishers and raiders, often relying on both traits during their distant incursions. They generally arm themselves with an ax and shield which is finely embossed with the cephalopod figures. Their true strength lies in the form of the longboats and dragonships which are capable of cutting even rough surge with blistering speed. It is this quickness both on open sea and in brackish shallows that is the hallmark of Morkt raids. They often strike at the softest targets and sow massacre and black magic in their wake. However, their attacks are more than a business enterprise as unsuccessful raids often risk their lives more than the combat itself. The Morj expect returns or the price raiders pay is gruesome.
The true destructive power of the Morkt lies in their fight at sea. The Morkt armies focus on one enterprise only, sinking ships and drowning air breathers with cackling delight. To this end they often prefer the thrill of destroying a hull by hand: cutting the bottom from boats, fishing sailors with billhooks, or destroying the hull and mast to watch the crew fester to death from immobility. For sturdier tasks they often use an array of metal netting chained to whale-beasts. They often use subsurface currents to maneuver large warbands with unmatchable speed hidden below the oceans depths. However, the Morj are cripplingly water bound. Though they can survive in amiable surface weather for a matter of hours, their appendages reduce their speed to a slow jog at best.
Vikts-Medium ax infantry. These men and women are the heart and body of any Morkt raiding fleet. They are home grown, captured, or bought from various nation coasts. Often abducted at infancy, they are forged by the Mistress and palugers in such a cruel fashion that spare few survive. Fewer mouths to feed. Those that do are veteraned warriors who soon earn their place in society amongst the seasonal raids. Men Women
Piktini- The skirmishing arm of a skirmishing army, these forces are designed solely for picketing and light attacks. They use a variety of ranged weapons: axes, javelins, slings, and bows as well as unconventional cocktails to harass the enemy or pick of light troops and archers. They are often held in a lower social regard to their stouter kin but are no less worthy of their grog at the end of a campaign. Men Women
Berserkers- Crazed men usually tripping on hallucinogenic herbs that generally just fuck things up without regard to their lives. They are incapable of fear, mercy, or economy of force. After battles they are often hauled off by their comrades due to sheer exhaustion. Though an archaic fighting style, they still represent the spine of the Morkt land forces. Men Women
Halbrood- Vile concoctions born from the inland swamps by the magic of plaugers. These creatures were once dying men, berserkers who brought honor to their name and to their Mistress. Their reward was inconceivable strength and newfound bloodrage. But their strength comes at a price: they are bound to be close to a plauger at all times or they will wither and die.
Orpichniks- Light shock cavalry. They are the bane of settlements and unprotected civilians who they target specifically. Seldom forming a solid rank, they are poor against other cavalry or solidified infantry formations. However when assailing an already shaken force, their horrid high-pitched screams and carnal viciousness are unnerving to even the most veteran of units.
Voktraptors- Medium skirmisher cavalry. These nasty creatures are the Morkt’s only true answer to cavalry, which they are apt to clip the heads off of with their sharp beak or harass from distance with whale horn bows. They smell vile and are poor argo to have on your ship.
Gooolik- Heavy monster cavalry. These amphibious beasts are the only heavy unit the Morkt bring to land. But heavy they are, capable of doubling as siege weapons or super heavy cavalry. Their riders are said to be even crazier than berserkers for riding their ill tempered beasts. However these mounts are uncannily smart and capable of communicating amongst each other for miles. It is perhaps this autonomous intelligence that makes them so unwieldy in battle beneath an inexperienced hand.
Shhraders- Usually mounted by Morj themselves, these creatures serve as a totally aquaine cavalry. In open sea they make quick work of light boats, usually tipping them with coordination and then feasting on the upturned contents. For those of stable keel, they are more than willing to rend chunks with their jaws while riders hook off would-be assailants.
Slag plagues- Not all plaugers hide behind traps and disease. Some join the shieldwalls and beachfronts, weilding fire or poison imbued weapons to cut down prey. They are the healers of the thrall hordes and are prized amongst their men like fathers. Slag plagues often wear heavy armor to protect their ample worth.
Blinders- An integral part to any Morkt raid is being one step ahead of the defender’s deployment. These small semi-aquatic canines, natural inhabitants of the Morkt isles, have served their masters as scouts. With keen eyes, ears, and nose they serve as a nearly impenetrable early warning network. Their cousins --jackguires-- are much rarer inland breed that serve the same role.
Heroes
The Mistress- The Mistress is the most recent Lady of Morkt to ascend to the throne. Her title is not without contest, but her recent use of the land dwellers has proven a powerful political lever. It was her great grandfather who saw an opportunity for such exploitation and the family business has flourished. At her core, the Mistress is a talented sorceress. However, the fear of her name and seemingly omnipotent surveillance of her waters has increased her power parity tenfold. Her only known hamartia is a penchant for fine foods from across the globe. The subjects under her crown are wise to tailor their gifts to such ends.
The Voice- A siren of the deep, this vile creature ranks chief among her kind. The Sirens of Morkt have played an intricate role in the “settling” of the islands by their wayward human colonists. It is said that the call of the Voice can be heard even across continents for those who know to listen.
Trygve- Like most of the rabble who inhabit the isles of Morkt, Trygve was not born in this land. He and his father were captured off the North coast of Tarkima when he was a child. His father, a renown berzerker both in his homeland and in the service of the Morj, was killed shortly after enslavement. However, Trygve’s orphanhood was not a lonely experience. He was raised by the island and rose to prominence from a young age. As a maverick raider his exploits became the stuff of legend, said to have even sailed around the southern horn of the dragon kings and returned with the fangs of a vampire. His rise to prominence has caught the attention of the rules beneath with whom he plays a precarious game of prized pet or threatening usurper. He is untamable, inspired and an artist with an ax.
The Sound- A colossal whale said to hunt the deepest trenches of the earth.
History
The Morkt has long been the ancestral home of the Morj, an eldritch cecaelia who rule its waters with an iron fist. Though it is rumored that a few native humans have lived for centuries on its mountain peaks, these freefolk are little more than myths for the hordes of slaves who inhabit its fjord coast. These slaves have been bound both geographically and more recently by enchanted throat manacles to the Morj who inhabit the icy waters around them. From within their human ranks the Morj have recruited and trained shamans (plagues) to act as their agents abroad. These agents are commissioned a boat and act as the thrall master of the crew for the means of raiding, slaving, or trading as the situation seems fit. These missions enjoy a fair amount of autonomy, wealth, and prestige provided they capitalize on this tightly monitored freedom. However, it is a dangerous game to become famous on these islands.
Relations
Pending personal convos.
Characters
External:
Radoslaw- A humble servant of the mistress, like all his plauger kin. His loyalty and guile has seen him climb the arch position amongst the raiding slaves, master of the thralls loyal to Trygve. Radoslaw treads a fine line between the voice of reason and the vice of control with the legendary Trygve. Radoslaw stands at a firm 8ft with husking build. He dominates the boat, but not with size alone. He is seldom seen outside of his armor and ceremonial headdress, the addition of which towers him further.
The Dutchess- Cold, suspicious, vindictive. This nobel woman lost her children to the living ships of of Yaval. Her hatred is vehement, but so too is her patience in collecting the debt. For a decade she has served her Mistress in the Sea of Lights as an agent to Shenra. In this time she has also heeded the words of land dwellers above and their plots to bring the Emerald Empire to heel.
Internal:
Ida- A renown smith, Ida’s profession has won her much acclaim amongst the Morj and her peers. Though often this fame is duboius, it has only doubled since her proposal to the legendary Trygve. The supposed daughter of a freefolk, Ida was captured as a newborn. She has grown into an indomitable and headstrong woman who would make her parents proud, whoever they are.
Yvette- The fierce leader of the the Morktish magic casts (both shamans and their seaborne cult of the plagues). Yvette is a mysterious creature who follows the will of the gods with savage fervor. It is said that she use to be a quite gorgeous and amiable woman, however her time in the eldritch marshes has changed her in more ways than known. It has forged her into the most powerful sorceress on the archipelago and solidified her regional power over the main island as absolute.
Gnima- The arch shaman’s daughter, Gnima has been tailored to the task of carrying on the rites of her people. However, the process for such a role is long and requires much more wisdom and acumen than Gnima possesses at present. Her journey into the darkness of voodoo will take all she can muster and can only end with the death of her mother by her own hand. Such is the way of the Primordial gods. In order to give, one must take.
Vallenguin is ruled by the Grand Council, consisting of the 10 great Houses. Each sends a representative (commonly the matriarch or patriarch of the family) to each council session. The Grand Council is generally only summoned once a year to decide on the greater course of Vallenguin. Power within the council depends on the prowess said family showed in the Magus Games of that year. Lower administrative duties depend on the ruling House. The Patriarch or Matriarch position is hereditary, running from holder of the title to the eldest child. In dire times, a supreme ruler is chosen. While the position holds no actual title, it is commonly referred to as the 'Greater King'-position. In the whole history of Vallenguin, that position has only been filled once and it cannot be carried across bloodlines. Once the Greater King dies, a new is chosen should the need arise.
Geography
Stuck in the armpit of the Holy Sphere, the land of Vallenguin is well hidden away. To the north you’ll mostly find sandy shores, with on the other side of the canal the Huayuan’s land. To the eastern shores the sandy shores continue. The Western shores become much more cliff-like, until the very western tip, where the cliffs reach their highest point. Then following the southern coast, the cliffs shrink again, about 3/4th of the shore. Then they make place for the white beaches. The landing place of the First Exiles. So here, in the South-West of Vallenguin lays Hudrin, the capital city. Towards the East, in the mainland you’ll mostly find forests and plains. Nearing the West-Eastern cliffs, you’ll find Wraequin, the Weathered City. These two are connected with a road, but that’s the only road on Vallenguin. Many slaves toil away in the feels between these two cities.
Culture
Hidden Land Vallenguin was created by Exiles who, by chance, gathered on a small island just outside of the Heavenly Sphere of Huayuan. Through painful diplomacy the Exiles could maintain their independence but act as a proxy for the Huayuan. To maintain that ability, Vallenguin does everything in its power to remain hidden from the vast nations. Instead they try to spread false rumors and myths surrounding them. The most common rumor is that of the Pirate Haven. As Vallenguin’s acts of piracy grew more numerous, and they vanished so quickly through the fog back towards the East, many rumors say that somewhere in that sea is a small island that is a true Pirate Haven. More educated people will have heard rumors of a so called Freehold City State, a place for artistic and magical talent. A true Utopia.
Lesser & Greater Houses Born from the ancient Exiles, the Lesser and Greater Houses form the framework for Vallenguin. Greater Houses generally rule over cities directly and allow their subordinate Lesser Houses to manage the smaller villages and so on. Higher Houses often give their children important positions like High Admiral of the Dreadfleet. While Lesser Houses fill the ranks of Seafangs. While Lesser Houses must answer to their liege, they generally still exercise a lot of power over so-called freemen, people who are not slaves but not affiliated with any House either.
Blood Purity & Magical Affinity Obsessed with magic and the power it brings, the earliest Exiles that landed at Vallenguin began to map their ancestry back to the Primordials. When the Exiles formed their houses, blood became an important factor, as it is one of the three known factors for magical aptitude. When Houses marry, skill, talent and prestige are important, but so is the purity of the Houses. Many lesser houses are generally lesser in blood purity, while the Greater Houses will do everything to breed stronger and purer mages. This makes marrying upwards rather tricky. Only to be done through skill, talent and prestige can it be achieved. However, there will always outsiders that are purer, more talented or gathered more skill. Even though Vallenguin wants to maintain its mystical, hidden nature, it desire for power outweighs it. Individuals, especially in the west, can be invited to be adopted into one of the Houses. Though such invites must first be explained before the Grand Council, so that no needless amounts of them are send out and Vallenguin remains hidden.
The Trials As said before, each House’s power within the council comes from their power in magic. This power is gauged yearly during the Trials. The Trials are a week long time of challenges. On the first day or two, heirs of Lesser Houses are pitted against each other in an attempt to win favor with their Greater House, as well as to settle rivalries. These battles are not just to decide who is stronger. They are an attempt to secure important posts like captain for a Waverider or even Dreadship. After that come the heirs of the Greater Houses, facing off against each other. This is the first part where that year’s power of that Greater House is decided. Not every Trial demands the heirs to face off directly. The Trials of the Stars, for example, drop off each heir on a small boat on the sea. Using the stars and their own knowledge they must reach Vallenguin again. On the final days the entire generations of the Greater Houses and their subordinate Lesser Houses join together in an all-out battle. There are magical wards in place to make sure nobody is killed, but this gauges the power of each Greater House the most. Two weeks after the Trials, the Grand Council gathers.
The Academy of Exiles There are few institutions in Vallenguin, considering the nation itself is so young it didn’t even exist during the Era of Legends. Never the less, one institute was born when the very first Exiles set foot on the land. The Academy of Exiles began as a place where knowledge was shared among the Exiles that arrived. Scrolls and books were voluntarily given up, in return for access. When the Houses were established, a conscious choice was taken to gift governance over it to one House. In return, the House would never be named Greater or Lesser. It would have no chair at the Grand Council, but it wouldn’t be a subordinate either. When marrying, the other person would join the House, no matter the prestige or gender. So nobody could marry him/herself out of the many demands of the position. In the end House Ulstur took up the task of Keepers.
These days, that one small hut gathering all those scrolls and books became the Arcania, the largest Academy on Vallenguin. A myriad of diciplines are taught to children for all Houses, Greater and Lesser. True to their vow, House Ulstur has never tried to exert any semblance of power. Instead, they alone have send the most envoys in pursuit of knowledge. In fact, the name Ulstur is the only name that some rumors outside Vallenguin share. Their sages, dressed in mothed, grey robes and carrying gnarled wooden staves, can sometimes be seen accompanying the strange, rich dressed independent merchants. But the Ulstur Sages carry gold, enough to buy the books and scrolls they must have.
Arreantis, the Reclaimed Primordial of the Southern Sea Arreantis was once a Primordial that had exiled herself into the Southern Sea, far from the surface world. Instead she lived beneath the waves, with the fishes and other creatures of the sea. She was a stern but fair Primordial, often warding off storms to those who prayed for her. Yet she send waves and storm for those that exploited the sea and took the calm waters for granted. She was a rarely worshipped, and when she died all knowledge of her swiftly vanished from the surface world. Until Leviathan was awoken. The ancient being, after years, told the Choir about his maker: Arreantis. The Primordial of the Southern Sea. With this one tale, the True-Seers began their dives again, searching for anything on the bottom of the sea that could point to the ancient, forgotten Primordial.
These days she has the largest Temple in Hudrin, the Capital. Her worship is wide-spread amongst Vallenguin. Both the Pirates and Merchants pray to her, one in public by sometimes even sacrificing captors to her, the others pray in secret. Each hoping that her god-like power that they believe remains amongst the people will bless them and their voyage on sea.
Pirates and Merchants To the outside world, Vallenguin does not exist. Instead they see two facets of it. The first are the Merchants. Travelers and traders that bring goods from Huayuan. They will maintain that they are independent traders, not affiliated with any nation. As strange as that might sound, they will continue this claim. Most Merchants do truly go out to trade with the outside world, forming a bridge between Huayuan and the other nations. Of course they heed the demands of the Huayuan. However some have other primary interests. Many Truth-Seekers and House Ulstur sages travel amongst the Merchants, disguised.
The Pirates are another part, completely separated from the Merchants. There are strict rules to maintain the unaffiliated status. No noble that was once a Merchant can ever become a Pirate. Nor vise versa. These pirates operate on the Southern Sea. They raid merchants, patrols and fishermen alike. The Pirates often vanish in mist and towards Huayuan, using the massive country as a passive shield against anyone who would give chase. At Hudrin they dock and trade the stolen goods with Merchants who then transport it towards Huayuan’s Southern Peninsula.
Both these factions are part of Vallenguin’s official forces.
Military
There are not enough people on the island (including the slaves) to fend off any nation's invasion. In fact, if Huāyuán wanted, they could just reconquer Vallenguin again. What separates them from others are the pursuit for magical talent and ability. Mages are bred in the houses and their expertise is applied everywhere possible in an attempt to nurture even more skill. On land, Vallenguin's individual career soldiers are fair. Though very low in numbers. On the sea, however, they become a real hidden menace. In terms of size, the fleet is small but compared to the other nations, it's not too bad. However, it is each ships quality that brings the treat. While slaves row away in the lower decks, career soldiers man the upper decks, ready to fire magic, arrows or to board an enemy ship and ruthlessly and indiscriminately slaughter everyone onboard. Only to vanish in a thick fog.
Waveriders
Every fleet needs its smaller ships. The Waveriders are small raider ships that harass small fishermen boats or regional merchants. Generally armed with only one ballistae, a Waverider on his own can easily be scared off with only one decent ship. However, they have a nickname: “Storm heralds”. For when a Waverider is spotted, a Dreadship might be near. Waveriders, unlike their larger cousins do not carry a magical mist around. Instead they mostly rely on their speed and agility. Waveriders are also commonly used to recon parts of a coast and even explore beyond well known seas, as it is technically deep sea worthy. Though most captains prefer not to stray too far from known shores.
"From the fog they came. Dark ships with dark sails, carrying dark hearts. We barely saw them before the water turned against us. Before the indifferent sea churned against us. Before we could grab our spears the wood beneath us splintered. Boys, mere boys, were thrown around like dolls. The sea swallowed everyone. Veteran and newling alike. Why I was spared, I do not know. The only things I saw were black shades hauling our crates off. Then the black ships, with black sails carrying black hearts vanished again in that wretched fog." - Sole survivor of a Dreadship attack
Dreadship
The spine of the fleet, Dreadships are the bane of any sailor worth his salt. Dreadships are built to hit hard and hit fast, only to vanish again in the thick, magical fog conjured by their onboard mages. Some legends say that Dreadships somehow manage to sabotage their targets underwater before they attack. This is untrue, however they can deliver a terrible amount of damage through broadside mounted ballistae. On the side there are a few spots where boarding planks can be lowered, effectively hooking the ships together with them.
"Nothing is quite as fearsome as seeing that black iron, jagged edged harpoon. We were no longer masters of this sea. Were were prey. And the hunters had caught us. The wind blew wrong and the current should have taken use the other way. But when our sails, those chains clattered and rang, like bells heralding our doom. What else could I have done but jump ship? But I do not count myself among the lucky. I have to live with that now. And tonight, when I'm with both my legs on solid ground, I'll still hear the rining of those chains." - Dreadnaught Survivor
Dreadnaught
A larger, more menacing version of the Dreadship. A Dreadnaught often leads a small fleet of Dreadships for a true raid of the coastline. When that happens, neither fishermen nor merchant is safe. Dreadnaughts prefered tactic is to ram, while also chaining an enemy ship to them through the front ballistae. Dreadnaughts are very few in number but each and every single one of them are dangerous in their own unique ways. As generally the Captains are also Admirals of a small part of the Dread Fleet. Each Admiral, depending on from which House he/she is, modifies the Dreadnaughts in their own ways. Meaning that no Dreadnaught is truly the same. Burning wreckages are often a tell tale sign of a Dreadnaught attack.
"Don't ask me. I beg you don't ask me about it. I've fled my entire life from it. I swore, after 20 years, I swore I'd never board a ship again. The seas are not safe. Go away. Go away!" - Stormsleeper victim
Stormsleeper
Does it bring the storm? Or does the storm follow the ship? Is there even a storm? Or is it all a myth? Questions surround Stormsleeper. The vague, infamous ship is a presence on the sea that few ships can match. It instills a fear in even the most seasoned of shippers. Very much a floating city, Stormsleeper is the crown jewel of the Dreadfleet of Vallenguin and only captained by the most accomplished of the Houses. The Captain of the Stormsleeper is one of the few issues voted on in the Grand Council. But with reason, for when Stormsleeper awakens from its slumber, it does not raid. It does not wage war. It destroys at best, and brings the void at worst. Fear the storm.
Decksnakes
Decksnakes are vicious fighters. They wear leather armor and sleek swords to remain agile and fast on the decks they invade. Decksnakes make up the bulk of the corsair forces, commonly manning Waveriders, these swift and dangerous people are often pulled from lesser (or even bastard) sons and daughters of the nobility. While decksnakes are not really looked down upon (because they do fulfill a public service) there is little chance that they will ever grow beyond anything. However, professional decksnakes can amass great wealth and prestige, becoming lesser nobles when they retire and thus safeguarding a better future for their children.
Decksnakes go through a lesser trail period on some short route sailing Waveriders to give them their sea legs, as well as to train them in naval warfare. After that they are stationed on further expedition and often experience their first boarding. Decksnakes are told that viciousness and merciless action is required to survive, thus reinforcing the teachings of brutality. They wield sleek swords and throwing knives. Some Decksnakes take to coating their blades in poison as well, shortening fights considerably. However, Decksnakes stand little no chance against trained soldiers and career marines dressed in chainmail and plate.
Seafang Marines
Pulled from the more respectable ranks than Decksnakes, Seafang Marines make up the bulk of the troops onboard a Dreadship (or any ship bigger). They are trained with both the bow and sword and wear lightened armor which can be easily dropped should the Marine fall in the water. All Seafangs go through harsher training on land first. Often swimming in cold, night time waters after which they are forced to shoot their bow till dawn. Some lesser families have called out the practices as torturous on their sons, however the results speak for themselves. Seafangs can stand their ground against seasoned Marines and sailors and often come out victorious.
Mist & Storm Mages
Mist Mages made Vallenguin possible. Was it fate or was it luck that one of the first Exiles had mastered Mist magic? It does not matter. Mist Mages have an important role on both the land and on most ships. They are masters of water and illusion magic. Their mastery allows them to hide the island for all that do not know how to search for it. They maintain the Fogstones, beautifully crafted monoliths surrounding the island’s shore. Who amplify the thick fog and the myriad of illusionary threats. Illusions bounce off the mirrored water, making things look smaller, or bigger than they really are. On boats they form Covebands, groups that stick together to cast their magic. They hold the thick mist together around ships and even fleets, while casting imagined threats against the enemy. Victims of Mist Mages often believe they saw strange phantasm lights in the distance, or heard a woman sing. Each ill omens on a very calm, very dark sea. Thus brining fear in the hearts of soon-to-be victims.
Particularly gifted Mist Mage Covebands ascend to Storm Mages together, after many years on sea. Storm Mage Covebands are even more dangerous than Mist Mages. Some say they can carry storms with them. This is not entirely true, instead they work long and hard before a battle to create weather conditions that are favourable for a storm, and then try to bend the harsh winds and lightning to strike their enemies. Yet the talent and skill required make a Storm Mage Coveband a rare thing indeed.
Arreantian Knights
The Arreantian Knights are all part of House Egerin, part of the Second Exiles. Their affinity to the sea and water knew no bound and they were one of the first to start diving in the Southern Sea. There the people of the old, venerable house are said to have found the Fountain of Arreantis, underwater. Details of this site are vague as none of the Knights speak of it. What is know is that people of House Egerin, when they wish to, dive down to that place and become Arreantian Knights.
Arreantian Knights are something different all together. They aren’t trying to control the sea and water, they very much seem to be it. As waves they can clash upon ships and coasts. Their connection to the creatures of the sea is closer than their connection to humans sometimes and most dangerously of all, they can jet out of the water high enough to land upon most ships’ deck. Arreantian Knights are rarely seen beyond the Southern Sea and Vallenguin. Outside Vallenguin and the Holy Sphere, there is nigh no knowledge of them. Not even in sailors’ stories.
World Hauler
The world is a vast place. One of many dangers as well. But also many riches. Merchants that dare to go beyond the known coasts are rewarded with exotic goods. With this in mind, the first World Hauler was created. A vast ship that can carries both the food required and also the goods to sell in strange lands. The massive ship also allows many more people to come along with the trip, and that is what makes the World Hauler special. See, normally only a handful of merchants could sail along to barter their goods. Now other kinds of people can be carried. Strange pilgrims and grey sages. The Vallenguin World Hauler will deliver more than goods to the far reaches. It serves as a mobile base for more delicate forces. But that also means no World Hauler ever arrives in a port of no importance.
Truth-Seeker
Vallenguin’s thirst for power will never seize to be. In fact, since the First Exiles, Vallenguin has searched endlessly for more power, more knowledge to use. It became such an important task that a special group was founded for it. The Truth-Seekers. People from both Lesser and Greater Houses can apply to become a Truth-Seeker. But not many truly make it. Truth-Seekers have one unifying trait: unstoppable curiosity. In early times they wandered the island of Vallenguin and even the small ports on the Heavenly Sphere’s Southern peninsula, in search for more knowledge, more names, more power. They were the divers that found Leviathan too.
Truth-Seekers these days have an even more difficult task. They travel to foreign countries under the guise of pilgrims and merchants, trying to find more answers while at the same time not betraying the existence of Vallenguin. Truth-Finders specialize more in Illusions, masking their presence and allowing them to move through the shadows should it be needed. They carry a dagger to defend themselves should it be needed, but they are barely trained and prefer to not get involved in any direct combat.
Heroes
"Sea Wraith, Pirate Queen, Stormbearer"
Captain Syvella. Both beautiful and dangerous. There is an eerie call to her, and many heirs of other houses have asked for her hand. But Syvella is bound to the sea. She became a Mist Mage in her youth, when she aided her sage father with maintaining the Fogstones in their cliff-filled land. From there she heard the elusive call of the sea. On the ships she went above and beyond her duties. Her and her Coveband began to tear apart hulls and pulled sharks from the depths to feat on the fallen sailors. When her Captain died during a boarding it was Syvella that took command. The Dreadship she served on became infamous for a short time, sailing beyond conventional hunting grounds and loading up on treasure. When she returned, she was offered the post of Captain permanently. Now, many years later and for 10 years in a row she has been voted as Captain of Stormsleeper and High Admiral of the West. Basically giving her command over the entire fleet should she so desire.
Captain Syvella is mostly feared through her magic. Some say she is blessed by the unknown God of the Deep. Others say she made a deal with some water demon. Some rumors would even dare say she was taught by a Primordial Dragon. Of course nobody would dare ask. What is true is that she is powerful on the sea. Captain Syvella wears the Sea Drake Crown, a Primordial Artifact greatly enhancing her Water magic. It was this object that allowed her to rise above her fellow Storm Mages.
Outside of Vallenguin’s land, Admiral Syvella is little more than a legend, a frightening tale told by sailors. She has many names. Sea Wraith is a favorite amongst lesser educated sailors, believing she is a wraith of a once beautiful maiden who was killed at sea by frightened sailors. Thinking she would bring doom is she remained aboard. The myth says that a being from the Deep took her and granted her power to avenge herself. Since then, she has roamed the West-Northern sea searching for unfortunate ships. More educated and skeptical people more commonly refer to her as the Pirate Queen, if they believe she exists.
Leviathan. The very name brings ill omens. In the myths, he has many shapes. That of giant squid is rumor’s favorite. Though it has been described as an island for Sirens as well. The truth is that it’s a golem of some kind. A construct created during the Age of Legends. It sank in that time as well. The Mist Mages that found the thing on the bottom of the sea, away from Vallenguin’s shores, believed that it was rather deactivated than destroyed. It took years after its discovery to learn almost anything about the object. Ancient runes engraved upon it’s large back appeared to have been mostly ceremonial, as well as almost unreadable. However, a breakthrough was made when its name was discovered: Leviathan.
After long years of begging the Greater Houses to allow for blood experiments, the Leviathan finally hummed with a bit of life. It is believed then that the Leviathan was sleeping, and that small samples of Primordial blood allowed it to rise up, carefully from that deep sleep. More blood was offered. In fact the blood experiments lasted for a full year before the Leviathan awoke. It went on a rampage and a few divers died when it shot off into the darkness, not to be seen again for another year. But when it returned, it appeared before the sandy shores of South-Vallenguin. Docile. Mages who had donated their blood said they could hear a whale-like song echoing through the night when it first appeared. Eventually those mages explained that the creature is longing for a home to defend. A place to guard over. When the Greater Houses told said mages that it could have a home in Vallenguin, if it indeed would defend the land.
How exactly those mages knew how to sing what is still not known. But they sang in an eerie tune that made even the most seasoned Mist Mages shudder in their bones. With not a word comprehensible, they did tell the Leviathan that it had found a home. It vanished below the waves again, the many lines on its back glowing a deep blue. Since then it has acted a guardian of Vallenguin’s shores. Crushing ships and dragging the men below the sea into a watery grave. It only communicates through the Leviathan Choir, compromised of the descendants of the mages that first donated their blood. The Leviathan is rarely spoken too, as he has never made a mistake in sinking the wrong ship yet. But when it must be addressed, it must happen through the Leviathan Choir.
Greatest of the Truth-Seekers and House Ulstur's grey sages. Lord Ittain possesses a tainted kind of knowledge. He's half-mad and blind. Yet that doesn't stop him from scribbling along. Luckily he speaks clearly enough. Even though he's blind, one can often find him reading, somehow. To him, ink on paper is visible with a much deeper meaning. He claims he can see the essence of the message. The emotion it was written with. Revealing more about the text that any normal antiquarian could. Some have doubted his blindness but he very much is blind. As he often falls over things or must ask a nearby person to help him walk back to his office. If he sees anything beyond the letters and essence written down, he sees through the eyes of his familiar. A strange bird. It looks like an eagle but with snow white feathers and wonderful blue tips on them.
Lord Ittain was the youngest son of House Ulstur. Therefor destined to lead a life confined to the Exiled Academy. It was by his luck that he could visit the Leviathan Choir often. Discussing their knowledge of Arreantis and the Leviathan. He could also speak to several Arreantis Knights. Desiring more answers about her, Ittain implored his father to join the underwater expidtions. It was allowed. However, upon his search underwater he once wandered. He found a small quill tip. Upon touching it, a bright flash exploded from the tip. It was so bright that the others of House Ulstur saw it from the surface. A bit later they found a screaming and panicing Ittain, blind and mumbling.
At first he remained in his chambers, sealed off from the world. But when his father died, he came out of it, babbling about scrolls and books. Frantically rushing around the library gathering books and scrolls. At first his brothers and cousins believed he had truly gone mad. But that's not what happened. What happened was the discovery of a link between hundred of Primordial legends. Over the course of years, Ittain continued to piece together information, or write in a strange scripture. Believed to be half-mad and half-genius. He is a source of great amounts of information. Aside from his occassional strokes of genius, there is also a strangely high quantity of Promordial blood in him. While not unseen in any other humans, it certaintly breaks with the Bloodline documents and early reports on his Promordial blood levels.
Few as beautiful as Lady Isabelle chose the harsh life of the sea. Many ladies at court prefer to stay on land, or let their ships not wander off far from the shores. But not Lady Isabelle. Even at young she sought the things that excited her. Be it the seduction of a married man, or the adventure to some unknown, mysterious place. Yet that did not mean that Lady Isabelle was a wild and uncalculated individual. She knew that in order to survive her adventurous streaks, she’d need skills. At the Exile Academy, she dove in books not meant for many people. Books that spoke of a consuming fire. Knowledge not meant to be used on a ship.
It took her years to translate the many signs but it was Ittain that provided the key to the lock she had carefully crafted. He came upon her and shared a seemingly useless bit of information. Yet that useless piece proved the key to deciphering the essence of the book. Since then, lady Isabelle has shown a proficiency in fire magic unseen in Vallenguin ever before. The proficiency was so great that she’s the only one who is allowed to use Fire Magic on a ship.
Five years ago, at the young age of 20, she entered the Bay of Seren. Ready to service her nation while delivering doom her enemies. And doom she brought. With her mastery of fire, she lit sails and wood aflame. The eat at the hull, ruin the canvas and burn the sailors. At Vallenguin she swiftly became famous for her terrible raids. Yet every year she still returns to Vallenguin to imperil every marriage on the island.
History
Last 20 years Vallenguin, under the protection of the Heavenly Sphere, mist and myth has remained undetected even till present days. The ten Houses, while not united on every subject, have little hostility towards each other. Piracy attacks in the Eastern bay against Lynnfaire have escalated cautiously. Twenty years ago the first Dreadship has entered the Pirating waters there. The High Admiral then, Lord Easling of House Quinjin and father now current High Admiral Syvella has send in total a single Dreadfleet there, led by a single Dreadnaught. Increasing the acts of piracy from simple Waverider raids upon fishing ships and small traders to larger, international trading vessels. Mostly targeting Lynnfairian ones. Under High Admiral Syvella the deployment of Dreadfleets increased considerably, showing a more aggressive stance in the pirate acts as well.
Lord Ittain of House Ulstur has decided to send several expeditions towards Marathan. He believes the many Primoridal Sites houses knowledge that could proof useful. These expiditions will be deployed with the World Hauler ‘Northern Sun’. This will be the first time a World Hauler enters the Eastern Bay. Northern Sun will send its smaller crafts to dock at a Vlaanderburg port soon.
The First Exiles From where they came is still very much up to debate, as many elders straight up refuse to talk about it. The only traces that can be found are in the Bloodline documents, indicating that the First Exiles came from the Bay of Seren, mostly from Lynnfaire. They came, presumably exiled, in the year 365 and landed on an uninhabited island. Presumed unclaimed, and with extremely undetailed maps of the Holy Sphere regions, the First Exiles built there homes here. Resentment for their previous countries was big and there was a feeble hope that maybe they could survive, thrive and take vengeance upon those who send them back.
This all changed upon the realization that they were painfully close to the Holy Sphere. Envoys were send in an attempt to negotiate. The nation was only 2 years old and hadn’t even a name. It was luck that they went for the Seasonal King of Summer, who unlike his brothers, did not hate foreigners outright. The envoys of the First Exiles swore eternal allegiance and adoption of the Tranquillistic believes. This was more an act of desperation than a well thought through deal. Never the less, Ao Run granted them their independence.
The Second Exiles In the year 432, the Second Exiles came. Largely deemed the majority of the lesser houses. Around this time the Grand Council was established and the First Exiles formed themselves into the 10 Great Houses, and one stand alone: House Ulstur. The Second Exiles made their peace with being the lesser ones, as existence at Vallenguin proved to be bountiful and peaceful.
Tranquilism, initially taken up out of desperation, became an enlightenment. While no-one believed in Serenism anymore, Tranquilism was not taken up immediately. But now the idea was deemed pleasant by the general populace. Searches were launched to find Primordials or traces of them. This was done mostly as the Holy Sphere did not like Vallenguin worshipping Huayuan Primordials. Initial searches came out with naught.
Discovery of Arreantis House Ulstur, using water magic, dove deep and far. It was in the year 477 that they discovered the Leviathan. A massive construct that laid dormant on the bottom of the South Sea. Through research, guesswork and experiments, they managed to reawaken the creature. In the year 478 it returned and the Leviathan Choir was formed. While the two rarely communicated, with every connection a deeper understanding for Arreantis was formed. Thus the first Primordial of Vallenguin was uncovered.
At the same time, House Egerin had its own deep sea expiditions. They discovered the Fountain of Arreantis, which gave them an unimaginable connection the South Sea. They became the main followers of Arreantis and erected a huge temple in her name at Hudrin. This event marks the true spread of Arreantis. With now a Goddess at the forefront, Tranquillism did not just become the practiced faith, it became a way of life. House Ulstur, to the present, continues to search names, images and knowledge of other, dead or vanished Primordials. While the Arreantis Knights and House Egerin continue to search the South Sea for more signs of their great goddess.
Time of Mist and Black Sails In the year 493, Ao Run demanded that Vallenguin would hold true to their promise. The target was said, the fangs were needed. Since the Second Exiles, Vallenguin has hidden itself in thick fog and strange illusions. That knowledge, as well as the marine knowledge would now be put to the test. The first Waveriders were dispatched for the Eastern Bay. Initially piracy rewards were small but promising. Aside from loot, the Holy Sphere supported the piracy efforts in coin as well.
In the year 501, the first Dreadship was released upon the Eastern Bay. This first ship, named “Vallenguin’s retribution”, was made famous at Vallenguin for the cheer amount of ships it sank each year. Her captain, Syvella, was daughter of the High Admiral. When he resigned from office, citing old age. His final demand was to promote his daughter to the station of admiral and leading the first Dreadfleet at the Bay of Seren. In less than 10 years she became High Admiral and captain of Stormsleeper. Even though the dreaded ship is kept hidden and away from the bay of Seren. In the last 5 years, High Admiral Syvella as increased the amount of pirating ships in the Eastern Bay significantly.
Relations
The Kingdom of Lynnfaire - Vallenguin has send many smaller raids against Lynnfaire, mostly meant to distrupt fishing and small, regional trade. However, recently the pirate attacks have increased massively. Captains are commanded to kill everyone, unless they are on a return voyage to Vallenguin. Then taking slaves is allowed. Holy Sphere of Huayuan - The only nation that knows of Vallenguin's existence. Vallenguin has special trading rights on the Southern Peninsula and many traders go from the western nations here and back, trading. Vallenguin knows that they are still looked down upon, but under the protection they have survived and thrived.
Characters
A Truth-Seeker of some renown, Lee is the younger brother of Syvella. He leads the first expedition into Matathran, hoping to uncover more about the Primordials. Lee is a faithful servant, believing the Primordials that died will be resurrected and those that vanished will return. As Truth-Seeker he lacks combat skill but makes up for it in general knowledge and youthful desire for adventure.
Optional section. Put any info about any characters here. Examples of this would be your kings or queens, military leaders, and non-hero “badasses”. You can also put more detailed info of your heroes here as well.
Inheritor of Lynnde, Bastion of the Old Gods, the Three Eyes
Government
Despite being nominally a monarchical state, Lynn-Naraksh resembles a feudal oligarchy (with strong theocratic undertones) more than a true imperial order. Its lands are divided into Demesnes, regions of roughly comparable size, each of which is under the rule of a member of the aristocracy, known as a Blood Lord. The Lords hold almost unlimited authority within their domains, being capable of creating and altering laws, issuing decrees and levying militias on a whim, as well as wielding immense power in individual fields of administration. They are free to command the imprisonment, execution and conscription of whomsoever they wish, as well as to pass judgment over any dispute, whether called to do so or not, levy armies and command the undertaking of grandiose projects such as building a castle or dam. All that is formally required of them is that they pledge their loyalty and obedience to the imperial throne, observe the tenets of the Order of the Divines, which are few and liberal, and bolster the armies of the suzerain with their own forces in the event of a war.
In practice, however, all is not so simple. While the Emperor is indeed the highest authority over all matters temporal and spiritual, being, by virtue of position, the head of the Order, they rarely act directly or even pronounce themselves on any subject short of those affecting the entire nation. Instead, all necessities below this threshold are administered to by the Imperial Court, a gathering of the most disparate figures in the realm. Advisers, commanders, high cenobites, members of the imperial bloodline, envoys from the Kuraxxi bog-folk and the Vurogg tribes, executioners, kennel-masters, magisters of the militant orders, even some influential (and high-blooded) guild council members form complex but rigid hierarchies bound together by even more complex webs of codes and statutes. The Imperial Demesne, vastly larger than any other, is virtually a small empire within an empire, with various court dignitaries presiding over sections of it even as the Blood Lords do over their feuds. Knowing who of them can issue commands, who can give "advice" that is more or less worth heeding, and who can be disregarded altogether is vital for a Lord, lest they incur the displeasure of the Emperor or the scorn of their peers.
Emperor and Lords alike generally come into their position by succession. As the Blood Lords' title indicates, for one to be admitted into the rank they must be of sufficiently "high" blood, that is, with strong enough traces of Primordial lineage. Prospective heirs are placed through gruelling ritual trials by priests of the Order, in the course of which their blood is sampled and their force of will, desire for power and mastery of the magical craft are put to the test. Should any of them fail, they are quietly done away with, and a suitable replacement is drawn from the ranks of the Deathless Guard. The procedure for heirs to the throne is similar, though the trials are harsher and carry heavier symbolic connotations. Candidates for substitution are numbered among the more prominent Lords, though to this day there are no records of it ever having been needed to call upon them.
While, as far as most people in Naraksh are concerned, the power of the Blood Lords is absolute, there are nevertheless certain forces in the realm that are exempt from their rule and answer to the Emperor alone. The most notable of them is the Order of the Divines, the clergy of the state-mandated Primordial-worshipping religion, along with its affiliates, the Deathless Guard and the Scourge Knights. Tasked with upholding the old faith in the lands of the Empire and the minds of its subjects, the adherents of the Order can be spiritual guides, inquisitors and enforcers as the situation requires.
The other parties not subordinate to the Lords are the Kuraxxi and the Vurogg, who exist as semi-independent polities within territories allotted to them by the imperial administration. Their only duty, aside from the universal pledge of obedience, are to offer a regular, yet not greatly onerous tribute to the throne. However, it is a tacit assumption that they are to support the Empire with force of arms should they be unofficially called to do it, and so far they have never disappointed. Internally, the two races are loosely organised into, respectively, a cult-like structure and a confederacy of minor tribes; owing to their small populations, such simple systems can exist in relative stability.
Geography
"What usurpers of dirt can claim what is fit only for gods to rule?" - Krovris Naaher, Exarch of the Order
Even as its name is a dissonant amalgam of reverend speech from the east and the harsh accents of the region, the lands of Lynn-Naraksh are a patchwork of stridently unnatural contrasts. From the north, covered in cold, barren tundra and icy hills rising, here and there, into strange isolated mountains capped with glaciers, long and narrow stripes of frozen ground stretch like talons to clash with dry, scorched barrens. In the south, the soil is dry and smothered in ash perpetually rising from innumerable calderas and pits of restless magma which irregularly surge up and withdraw with no apparent rhyme or reason. These fiery regions have their own mountains - monoliths of bare rock, rich in valuable ores, yet perilous and volcanically unstable. Deep beneath the earth are vast chambers, once the abode of a Primordial, and now little more than glorified catacombs. Only the inhuman Lords of the land, the fanatical Order of the Divines, and hardy and ferocious beasts willingly make their home at these two unforgiving extremes. However, many fertile patches of volcanic ash in the more temperate central regions are inhabited and cultivated, and most of the subjects of the southern Blood Lords have little choice but toil in the mines to make a living.
The west is an anomaly all unto itself. There, swamps, marshes and damp moors intersect and mingle with perfectly flat salten wastes, pitted with bitter lakes and veined with torbid rivers. They are no more welcoming than the tundra: the swamps crawl with all manner of pestilential vermin and venomous foulness, the lakes are tainted with divine blood, and miasma chokes the skies, too heavy for any wind to disperse. In sparse and unlikely places, thickets and small forests of twisted trees rise from the white desert, and they are replete with perils of their own. None but Kuraxxi and Vurogg lives here, for the land is too wretched even for the Lords to scavenge; yet those monstrous beings seem to thrive here, festering in the traces of their fallen progenitor like the parasites to which they have a strange affinity.
Of the four corners of Naraksh, the east is beyond a doubt the least harsh for mortals to inhabit. While it is, notwithstanding, far less welcoming than many a place in Askor, being shrouded in ashlands as the south, bursting cauldrons and treacherous crevices are far less common here, and the terrain is altogether more even. Of note are the small, yet thick forests of strange dark-wooded trees scattered at relatively brief intervals throughout the region, and the few yet imposing extinguished volcanoes that tower over them in places. Perhaps due to their past activity, the ash fields of the east are among the most fertile in the Empire, leading to most of its population gathering between the central wastes and the mountains that mark the border of Vlaanburg. Yet the common folk are not the only ones who reap the bounty of the land; given the ease of procuring the vast amounts of nutrition required by the imperial warbeasts, Kennels and Stables have been built among the fields in great quantity, flanked by the barracks of handlers and other soldiery.
Culture
While Lynn-Naraksh's population has always been divided since the days of the Great Beasts and their hybrid spawn's cruel rule over the resentful masses of their subjects, the passing of centuries and the weakening of the Empire's rule have greatly aggravated this. The two formerly monolithic strata have fragmented into numerous splinters, sects and factions; while the dominant class remains mostly united by its enduring common cause (with the notable exception of the heresy of the Charnel Prophet), the larger populace has become divided by discordant faiths and causes. This separation notably only extends to the Empire's human population, since the Kuraxxi and Vurogg minorities have, as far as anyone can recall, always been cohesive not only internally and with the Lords, but, curiously, between themselves as well.
Superior to all in the imperial hierarchy are the Blood Lords, direct descendants of the Primordials that once held sway over the lands of Naraksh. Their efforts to maintain their bloodlines as pure as possible have led to virtually all of them being related to some extent, and generations of inbreeding, along with the strength of their elder lineage, make many doubt whether they are truly human at all. None has ever seen a Lord's face; all of them invariably appear clad in more or less ornate suits of armour. This is as much a tool of intimidation as it is a natural consequence of their abilities: the invariably high magic potential of the Blood Lords allows them to exert particular mastery over metal, ash and magma, which they are adept at conjuring and manipulating for their purposes. This enables them to wear their armour as nothing short of a second skin, reshaping it at a whim and not suffering any apparent ill effects from remaining encased in it for most of their lives. Due to the impossibility of discerning what is beneath their helmets and their own silence on this matter, the terms "Lord" and "Emperor" carry no connotations of gender in Narakshi, a peculiarity which has gradually spread to include most other titles and ranks in the Empire.
The staunchest supporters of the Blood Lords' regime are the clerics of the Order of the Divines, recruited for the most part from offspring of the aristocracy not in line for succession and those portions of the people who, through either cultural inertia or misguided loyalty, remain genuinely faithful to the Old Gods and their descendants. Though politically united, the Order, as well as its militant offshoots, is doctrinally split into two main currents. The Successionists maintain that the demise of the Great Beasts is final and irrevocable, and that the sacred duty of Lynn-Naraksh is to produce worthy inheritors of their legacy, who will eventually become deities themselves. They are ideologically opposed by the Resurgentists who hold that the absence of their Primordial lords is only temporary, with them having disappeared to face threats unknowable to mortals and fated to rise again when the time shall come. While the latter sect is somewhat influenced by Tranquilist doctrine, the latter is clearly heavily distorted, as some of its core tenets - animism and personal closeness to the divine - are fundamentally incompatible with the centralised and rigidly hierarchical religion of the Three Eyes. It is worth noting that the two currents do not violently clash with each other, and several syncretic teachings exist.
The colossus of the Empire's ruling faith is contrasted by the haphazard collection of what most of its subjects turn to for hope and support. While the worship of any entities, or even ideals, other than the Great Beasts is forbidden, the masters of Lynn-Naraksh have long since lost the power to effectively control the private lives of their citizens, and can only attempt to maintain appearances through terror and the occasional string of inquisitional trials. In the comparative safety of their homes, many revere the unnamed Primordials who struck down the Great Beasts and crippled the Empire's iron fist. For many, their number has been joined by the Prophetess, who is seen as a bringer of hope; tales of her being of humble origins are popular, as is the belief that the Silver Legion would have dethroned the Blood Lords, who scorned it, had it triumphed over the darkness in the east.
Strangely, the Serene faith has failed to obtain much of a hold in Naraksh, despite having been at the roots of the rebellion against the masters of Lynnde. Its support of a strong aristocracy is regarded negatively by the land's inhabitants, who have long grown weary of the uncontested excesses of tyrannical rulers and firmly believe that power will corrupt any who holds it, regardless of any codes they might try and impose upon themselves. Nonetheless, those remains of the ancient bonfires of rebellion the Blood Lords failed to stamp out have not fully abandoned their erstwhile religion. Most of them have come to embrace Protestant Serenists doctrines, which continue to slowly gain support at somewhat irregular rates as their proponents conduct clandestine evangelism.
Outside religious matters, life in the harsh environment of Naraksh, under the enfeebled but still vicious dominion of demigod-like figures who scorn them and treat them little better than slaves, has left many of its common folk hardened, if a little cynical. Though it will rarely find truly hostile manifestations, a distrustful, somewhat secretive and at times irreverent "us-against-them" mentality is a common sight among them, as are pragmatism and a strong attachment to family or small community ties. The Narakshi folk work hard when they must, rest when they can, preferably without being noticed, and celebrate quietly. Given the dismalness of the public order enforced by the Empire, the ability to find reasons for hidden joy in small things is valued and almost necessary.
Far removed from most of this, the monstrous races of Naraksh are for the most part culturally insular. The Kuraxxi, creatures combining insectoid, reptilian and a number of other, not better identified traits are the less human-like of the two. Little is known about these hideous, agile beings, said to be the offspring of the Bogwraith, the Primordial of the west. They live in moderately large clades in some of the most perilous places of the swamps and gnarled woods, refusing to speak or even show themselves to anyone other than the Lords and the Order; anyone else attempting to discover more about them inevitably fails to return from their expeditions. Among the few things they are noted for are their skills with poisons, pestilential curses and the taming of many of Naraksh's terrifying beasts. The latter makes it so that they are often sought after as handlers for the imperial army.
The Vurogg are believed to be descended from men touched by the vile blood that spilled from the Bogwraith when it fell. Large and strong beyond what most humans could hope to achieve, yet clumsy, feral and freakishly deformed, these brutish horrors are barely intelligent enough to congregate into tribal communities and follow the commands of the Blood Lords. Like the Kuraxxi, with whom they seem to understand each other quite well, much about them remains unclear, including how they reproduce - given that they are difficult to distinguish from each other in any way, and no one has ever seen anything that could be recognised as a Vurogg child.
Military
The bulk of Narakshi forces in times of war is made up of troops, or more accurately militias, levied by individual Lords from their Demesnes. Their rank and file are far from an impressive force: they are sparsely armed, as each is required to assemble their own equipment and weapons (mostly consisting of pikes and the occasional crossbow), poorly trained, and their morale leaves much to be desired, seeing as they know full well they are fighting for interests far from their own and they will be fortunate to make it out of it alive at all. And yet, it would be dangerous to deny that the armies of the Empire are capable of tremendous destruction and bloodshed.
The truth is that the strength of the hosts of Lynn-Naraksh does not reside in their bulk. The imperial armies are infamous for their use of monstrous beasts of war and of small units of individually tremendously potent combatants. Their tactics are invariably of the aggressive sort, regardless of their position; while this would be suicidal for a more conventional force, the sheer brute strength they can bring to bear is such that no obstacle seems too great. This might, however, comes at a price. Terrifying though the Narakshi forces might be in direct combat, many of them are unwieldy and difficult to control, and collateral damage tends to be significant whenever they take the field.
At the core of the imperial hosts are horrifying creatures of the accursed lands of the Blood Lords, tamed and trained by the arts of the Kuraxxi. From the immense bonejaw terrorbeasts of the northern tundra and the cinderhide wurms of the south to the less describablemonstrosities of the swamps, the most lethal and horrifying dwellers of Naraksh are fielded against the enemy, some even clad in plates of armour to add to their already fearsome resilience. Their handlers are often close by, with envenomed spears and plague-enchanted claws at the ready.
Next into the fray are the troops proper. The Blood Lords themselves are seldom far from the heat of battle, either tirelessly marching on foot or, depending on how close their Demesne is to the tundra, charging astride monstrous armoured boars who have little to envy to the creatures unleashed by the Kuraxxi. Those without such a mount are typically accompanied by small, heavily armoured retinues, who, while they might lack the magical potency of their lieges, are for the most part well-trained and superbly equipped. Reinforcing them are the forces of the Order. For the most part, they are comprised of Scourge Knights, skilful and zealous warriors sworn to the Old Gods. Despite not having exceptional numbers of magic wielders among their ranks, the Knights are redoubtable foes, capable of combining hefty armaments with dangerous mobility on the field of battle. More rarely, they will be joined by Deathless Guards. This cryptic order, largely made up of Blood Lord offspring, is usually tasked with the defense of sacred sites in Naraksh; however, its members have been known to march to war when summoned by an Emperor. Completing the Narakshi ranks are Vurogg auxiliaries, poorly disciplined yet savagely effective if employed by a skilful commander.
Heroes
“Quiet, or the Iron Giant will come.” - Rare warning to disobedient children in Naraksh
Iron Giant, High Executioner, Blade of the Empire, Stillborn God, Landbreaker. Having little in the way of a name of its own, Svorchok collects titles and sobriquets almost as a matter of pride, seemingly unconcerned by whether they might be marks of commendation or brands of infamy. And perhaps it is right to do so, for the terror and awe it inspires are such that any appellations given to it are, for good or ill, charged with a force nowadays found only in legend, and would seem a laughable exaggeration if they rested on the shoulders of any but the colossal warrior.
Nor is its origin any less surrounded by threads of myth. Forty years ago, the Successionist priests of the Order, not content of waiting for their gods to return as preached by their doctrinal opponents, set about to devising schemes to bring new divine terrors into the world to lead the reconquest of Lynnde. Before even some of them turned their gaze to the northward lands and began to whisper in the Emperor’s ear, others delved into the tombs of the Great Beasts, seeking the divine essence that had granted the dead Primordials their incredible power. Whatever they might have found, it was something they were pleased with, for they did not return empty-handed. Through secret alchemical processes, mixing rare and fabled ingredients and using open caldera as furnaces and ice from the highest northern glaciers to preserve their concoctions, the clerics refined their discoveries into an amalgamation the likes of which are remembered in the inscriptions of the tombs of the eldest Blood Lords. Rumour has it they even had recourse to the obscure and forgotten art of blood-weaving, though how this would have happened is unclear. When the elixir, if such it was, was believed to be ready, the Order selected a magister of the Deathless Guard, said to have been second in line to the throne, to be infused with it.
In a manner, the ritual that should have elevated the chosen one to godhood succeeded. What emerged from it was a fearsome being whose steps shook the earth, whose strength was unrivalled in all Naraksh and perhaps beyond, and whose mastery over the mystical disciplines of the elder blood reached peaks unheard of since the end of the Age of Legends. Yet, for all its stupendous might, it was clearly not a Primordial. Worse yet, its mind had been irreparably damaged, transforming what had once been a brilliant, in some respects, scholar and tactician into little more than a dull golem with an exceptional head for combat and alchemical formulae. Nevertheless, it was deemed fit that its talents should not go to waste, and Svorchok – all that remained of the creature’s former name – was placed under the Emperor’s own tutelage. There, it did not hesitate to make itself renowned in what simple ways it knew. While at first its position of High Executioner was mostly honorary, its brutal skill and ability to make its work into an effective public spectacle quickly gained it the favour of the court and the dread of the populace. Its notoriety further grow after the disorders that followed the upheavals in Matathran, when it was dispatched to suppress uprisings over the Empire and did so with ruthless efficiency. Tales persist to this day of Svorchok cleaving hills in twain with a blow of its sword, and routing a host of insurgents merely by walking over them; how exaggerated they truly are remains a matter of doubt.
Despite its reputation as a bogeyman across the land and its terrible mien, Svorchok has remained the simple being it was reborn as. Its appalling cruelty stems from no more than placid indifference, the, all things considered, clear depths of which would amaze many a seeker of inner tranquillity. It has no aspirations other than a slight vainglory, and no great ambitions to trouble it. The one oddity about its character is its closeness to the Emperor. Were even the voices about its prior life true, Blood Lords usually care little about the bonds of fraternity. It might be this favour is invoked by reverence for Svorchok’s semidivine nature, or the usefulness of its abilities; or perhaps by mere sympathy for the stunted, yet blindly loyal giant.
”The law of blood is about not what you have, but what you take.” - The Charnel Prophet on Blood Lord tradition
The Charnel Prophet is, embarrassingly enough for the Order of the Divines, both a bloody stain on its records and one of its greatest assets. While he has been formally excommunicated and branded as a heresiarch and dispenser of false teachings, both the Order’s prelates and the Blood Lords recognise that his unique skills and knowledge would be too great a price to pay for putting a stop to the comparatively minor nuisance that he currently represents, and a tacit understanding exists that he is to be left to his own devices for as long as he does not become an overt threat. Whether and when this will happen remains as yet uncomfortably uncertain.
For someone so infamous, remarkably little is actually known about the Prophet’s person. Most of his notoriety arises from the clandestine sect that has gathered around him, drawn by the divine revelations he claims to possess. This Sanguine Brotherhood, as it names itself, professes that the world was created by a not better defined omnipotent entity, identified only as the “Sanguinary One”, for no other purpose than its own cruel amusement. As such, all beings, mortal and Primordial alike, have as their only true goal to cause as much destruction and bloodshed as possible, and will be rewarded after death proportionally to how much their ravages entertained their creator. While there are clear Serene influences in this canon, they have largely been twisted far beyond their original intent, transfiguring the peaceful eastern religion into a savage nihilistic cult whose adepts practice nefarious rites of cannibalism and blood sacrifice.
The central figure of this bloodthirsty circle, despite being shrouded by a mystique largely of his own making, is widely known to have some exceptional traits, though this knowledge is often distorted and exaggerated by rumour. Most famously, the Prophet is a powerful practitioner of blood-weaving, a mystical discipline believed to have been lost since the Era of Legends. While the true extent of his abilities is unclear, it has been reported that he once killed someone merely by looking at them, and that he is capable of conjuring living creatures made of nothing but blood to do his bidding. Aside from this, he is renowned for being knowledgeable enough about the Great Beasts to rival some of the Order’s foremost authorities on the subject, and, to a somewhat lesser extent, for his martial skill; both elements that lend credence to the theory that he is a rogue member of the Deathless Guard. Yet, for all this, theories are all there is about the Prophet’s past. None can even truly say how long he has been alive; or perhaps none will.
”Fear what lives in the dark, and fear what isn’t afraid of leaving it more." - Narakshi proverb
While Svorchok was the first and best-known attempt to forge a successor to the Great Beasts out of their remains, it was certainly not the last. Since its birth over a century ago, multiple other experiments have been performed to that purpose by the Successionist cabals. Due both to the failure of the Stillborn God and a number of other, mostly occult reasons, far greater caution and parsimony of resources was exercised on successive occasions, with several trials being performed on expendable subjects before a ritual was fully enacted; yet, in spite of this, most of the preliminary attempts were failures, resulting in either the death or unintended transformations of the victims. As such, a second perfected incantation was not achieved for years.
Since the few records that exist of these experiments are hidden deep in the Order’s vaults, it is difficult to identify the moment when the Western Peoples were made part of them. It could not have been later than fifty years ago, for that was when the creature known as Nugrark was first sighted, but the span between its appearance and that of the Iron Giant remains a mystery. Whatever might have happened then, though, the former event is proof enough that the pestilent arts of the Kuraxxi and the blighted blood of the Vurogg bore fruit under the Order’s guidance, albeit one as stunted as Svorchok, if not more.
The being which, it is universally agreed, could have arisen only from under the Successionists’ spells and scalpels, is somewhat similar to a Vurogg, and was most likely one in the past. Now, however, it towers over even the greatest of that race, and is immeasurably stronger. Even more peculiar than its abnormal bulk is the armour of stone-like chitinous plates that covers its body, resembling the shells of some of the western swamps’ more dangerous monsters. Despite its carapace being seemingly intact, Nugrark wields a blade obtained from the same material, itself a testament to a dexterity beyond all but the deftest of its kin. Yet all these traits, however redoubtable, are often forgotten in favour of the mimetic ability and uncharacteristic cunning that has made the roving beast into a household bogeyman almost rivalling the Iron Giant itself. Nugrark, it is said, can be anywhere and accomplish anything it wants, and only the Emperor’s binding command and its own primitive mind prevent it from rampaging through all of Naraksh and beyond.
”Let yourself be carried by the river of my blood.” - Inscription in the Ashen Crypt
For most of Lynn-Naraksh’s subjects, the position of Emperor is an identity in its own right. Besides being shrouded by the same law that forbids any of lesser lineage to lay eyes upon the visage of a Blood Lord, those that sit upon the Throne of the Ashlands may have no name, personal or of Demesne, of their own, being known instead by their titles alone. Heirs to it are born and raised in shadow, in places known only to the high cenobites of the Order, and death and succession are likewise kept hidden from all but the closest of courtiers. These secretive practices, along with the rarity of public appearances by the regnants and the deliberately nondescript nature of their armour, makes it so that very few know where the life of one Emperor ends and that of the next one begins, both in terms of life and habits. As far as the general populace, and indeed most of the blood nobility, is concerned, an Emperor is a faceless figure defined solely by its role.
The truth is, of course, never quite so simple. Though often little is known of any given ruler’s character even among the higher circles of the Empire – whatever the trials of their youth might be, they tend, as a rule, to breed reclusiveness – words of favour or censure are not rare to filter through, and are often a reliable indication to what machinations, if any, they are engaged in. Naturally, the mere fact that such machinations exist at all, subtle or private though they might be, is enough to show that an Emperor is, after all, not a mere hollow suit and mouthpiece.
While the current holder of the throne is little less cryptic than his predecessors, he is likewise no exception to the sounding of indirect knowledge. Words of his ambitions stretching beyond the consolidation of internal dominion to which most past Emperors limited themselves, and that the fabled designs of the reconquest of Lynnde might, after all, have ceased being a never-embodied myth under his rule are not uncommon in the halls of the Throne. Somewhat more substantial is the general opinion than, in spite of the traditional neutrality of his rank, he favours the Successionist side of the Order’s doctrinal debate. Some tentatively attribute this to his supposed relation with what became Svorchok. If true, this would place his age at well beyond a century at the least, a point where even a Blood Lord would begin to show signs of age. It is then either the case that this supposition is false, or that the imperial bloodline runs still far purer than any other, for the Emperor’s eye is as bright and his martial prowess as renowned as ever.
History
In the long-gone Age of Legends, Naraksh was part of the sprawling Lynnde Empire that covered most of eastern Askor. It might have been one of many unremarkable provinces, had it not been for its vicinity to the Empire of Huayuan, which time and again repelled the invading armies from the north. Perhaps curious about the force that could withstand the advance of the mightiest dominion in the known world, or perhaps simply drawn by the smell of battle and bloodshed, three of the Primordials that ruled Lynnde, known as the Great Beasts, came to join the fray in person. They are remembered as the Ashen God, the Bogwraith and the Iron Maw, their names either lost to the ages or never having existed. The Great Beasts reshaped Naraksh to suit their unfathomable tastes, and begat monstrous spawn to serve as their lieutenants. At their command, legions were marched off to the south every day, accompanied by unnatural creatures of magic and ferocity, yet still they could not overcome Huayuan's defences. The war dragged on, amid the torments and vexations with which the Primordials prodded their more reluctant subjects, until rebellion struck. Over all of Lynnde, mortals rose up against their divine masters, seeking to break their brutal rule, and so it was in Naraksh.
Yet the Narakshi rebels did not possess the secrets that allowed their fellows in the east to overthrow the Emperor, and the blood-spawn of the Beasts, loyal to their progenitors, stood against them with their own forces. The uprising would have been crushed had it not been for the unexpected intervention of five other Primordial beings. Of those, much less is remembered than of the masters of Lynn-Naraksh; only their number remains in myth and chronicle, and it is said that they came from the sea. The five fought and slew the Great Beasts, supposedly due to taking pity on the plight of their thralls. They did not, however, take up arms against the Blood Lords, either deeming it dishonourable to battle such badly outmatched foes or hoping that even they might be brought to embrace freedom, and withdrew, leaving nary a trace of their passage.
From that point, the tide of the war had turned in favour of the rebellion. The Blood Lords of old were said to wield each the might of an army, but they were few, and their enemies were many. But, once again, a force from outside Naraksh stepped in to alter the course of the conflict. The Empire of Huayuan would have rather aided its old foes than seen the Serene faith triumph, and so it happened. With its support, the Blood Lords were able to rally and soundly defeat the rebels, shattering the resistance, it seemed, once and for all, and bringing Naraksh under their sway once more. After the Huayuan withdrew into its borders, they spent years consolidating their rule and stamping out the last vestiges of the rebellion. Though the Empire of Lynn-Naraksh is but a shadow of its former self, the ambition of its rulers has not changed over the generations, and, now that war and chaos are stirring through Askor once more, they prepare to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
The People of Utyre were very homologous due to their impressive provincial structure and governance. With the culling of 300 years ago and a long history of unity, the culture was very strong and with only minor regional variance.
Their diets consisted of heavy lunches, often found with heavy amounts of vegetables supplimented with meats and sometimes beans. Breakfast was an unceremonious affair consisting of the previous nights left overs should it be imperishable, and milk from the stead if they were farmers. Flatbreads were a common sight on the plate and in the hand, and was served with every meal, and sometimes sold on the street in the busier cities, often stuffed with slow roasted lamb, yogurts, and long lasting vegetables.
The people of Utyre dressed according to their standing in life as is usual of civilizations with a wide social economic girth. Working men and women alike favored breeches and other short, yet tight pants for ease, and billowy shirts to aid in field work in the summer time, and fur stuffed garments in the winter. Shoes were often raw hide and made to go past the ankle, especially in the provinces with much more varied climates. Socks were almost always reserved for the better off (excpt in the north) and spun of wool and plant fibers. They are often dyed red to showcase wealth.
The richer individuals wore less accomodating clothes such as long sleeved shirts, wide cuffs, and ankle lenth dresses and skirts. Heavily decorated vests are common with both men and women, and gold lined lacing was a popular trend of showcasing wealth.
The people themselves were outspoke, opinionated, and overall encouraged to debate and voice their opinions and concerns, with the exception of a polite skirting around religion. The people favored games of wit and cleverness, as well as enjoyed hard hitting sports and trained athletes. They were fond of their military and such sought to emulate the prowess in peacetime through local games and sporting tournaments. Hunting was a popular past time for the rich and poaching was for the poor.
In all they maintain a robust, showy culture of colors, sports, materialism, food, and debates. Their only exception to their explosive, public and outspoken culture is their personal worship. Due to the strong state control of the Argentist religion, most practices are done in the home by heavily decorated personal altars to the Prophetess, and the only outspoken words allowed are that of either complete praise to the faith or damnation to those who forfeit or don't meet the requirements of the state funded faith. But even in solitude their heavily social ways are seen in the often shadow war between neighbors to have the better and more impressive altar, or recognition for being the most faithful.
